


Come and Save Me From It

by foxesjosten



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2020-07-24 21:02:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20020972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxesjosten/pseuds/foxesjosten
Summary: What happens when Andrew gets out of Easthaven early only to find out that Neil is spending his winter break at Castle Evermore?





	1. Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for mentions of what happened in the raven king regarding andrew & what drake did + things that happened at Easthaven
> 
> i'll try to make sure to put trigger warnings for each chapter in the notes for y'all!!

Andrew Minyard does not believe in miracles, so he doesn’t know what to call it when he’s released from Easthaven earlier than expected. Definitely not a miracle unless maybe you were one of his doctors. He isn’t exactly the type of person who would be excited to get to have a portion of his winter break left. There’s not one thing that Andrew is itching to get back to, especially when Coach Wymack is the person coming to get him from Easthaven. The plan, or so he assumed, was to have his lot come to retrieve him from the facility but their winter break plans had apparently taken them to New York City. As long as they were all accounted for, Andrew saw no reason to call them back earlier. Except, they weren’t all accounted for according to his coach. Someone apparently had their own holiday plans. If it were anyone else, Andrew wouldn't have suspected anything but the person in question always did seem to struggle with the truth.

“Why are you looking at me like that, Minyard?” Coach Wymack asks. All he had said was that Neil was spending his holidays in Millport. It was something that would seem innocent enough to his trusting teammates, but Andrew has always been quicker to pick up on a lie.

“Coach, give me your phone.” Andrew says in place of a response to Wymack's question. Andrew’s cellphone was currently useless seeing as it hadn’t been charged in weeks. It had been put on the car charger when he had gotten in, but it hadn’t turned back on yet and Andrew didn’t have time to waste. He had a bad feeling about all of this and his bad feelings never seemed to be too far off from the truth. 

Wymack hands the phone over without another question. It only takes Andrew a few seconds to find the number he’s looking for and it only takes three rings for the person on the other end to pick up. “Hey, coach. Is everything alright?” Kevin Day asks.

“You tell me, Kevin. _Is_ everything alright?” Andrew asks back. 

“Andrew?” Kevin says. His voice is colored with disbelief. It seems that he isn’t the only surprised about Andrew’s early release.

“Where is he, Kevin?” Andrew replies back in lieu of a greeting. He doesn’t have the time or the patience for formalities. 

“What are you talking about? What’s going on Andrew?” Kevin asks again. 

“I think we both know who I’m asking you about and I will not ask again.” Andrew says with a familiar heat beginning to creep into his voice. The silence on the other end confirms that Kevin now knows exactly which “he” Andrew is referring to. 

“Andrew, I told him not to go,” Kevin starts. “I told him what would happen if he went, but he insisted. I couldn’t stop him!” _Nice to see that some things haven’t changed while I was gone,_ Andrew thinks as he rolls his eyes at Kevin’s cowardice.

“I’m beginning to lose my patience, Kevin. I suggest you finish your statement.” Andrew says.

“Evermore,” Kevin sighs. “He went to Evermore.” Andrew doesn’t miss the hysterics on the other end of the line. Kevin was never good at being alone and without Neil by his side, it was no surprise that he had taken this phone call around the others. Maybe it should've been comforting to know that Kevin still had eyes on him even when Andrew and Neil weren't around, but the comfort never seems to come. And even if it did, it wouldn't stop his heart from hammering in his chest. Kevin's confirmation would be enough to throw anyone into a panic but luckily enough, Andrew isn't everyone. His heart may be pounding, though he doesn't know why, and his anger may be making its way into the conversation, but it isn't enough to throw him off track. He won't let these feelings, even if he refuses to call them that, take his focus off the task at hand. He won't let emotions cloud his judgement the way his meds had. However, it seems that not everyone is able to control themselves after Kevin's confession. He doesn’t miss the angered cries from Boyd or the shrieks from his cousin, Nicky. 

“And you let him go.” Andrew guesses.

“Andrew, he had to. I told him that he shouldn’t but...” Kevin trails off. 

“Cat got your tongue, Kevin Day? Spit it out.” Andrew demands. His patience was wearing thin to begin with and every pause from Kevin seemed to be pushing it more and more.

“He went for you, Andrew. He said that Riko would have,” Kevin pauses. “He would have done things to you. He would’ve had things done. Neil needed to save you. He-” Andrew had heard enough. He chooses to hang up there for both his and Kevin’s sake. 

_Gone._ Neil is gone. He almost laughs because it’s almost comical. Neil had promised to protect his lot while Andrew was gone and yet, he failed. Or maybe he lied. Lying was more Neil’s speed than failure was. There is no space for Andrew to even consider his own feelings, not that he has any because he doesn’t feel or want anything, because Neil is gone and he’s just been told that it’s because of him. No, it’s not because of him. Andrew had made it very clear that he didn’t need to be protected or saved. No one had ever tried to save him before. Neil should’ve been smart enough to follow that pattern, but that was the thing about Neil. He was never smart when it mattered. He would shoot his mouth off when he shouldn’t, he would refuse to back down, and now? Now he had charged straight into Edgar Allen without knowing whether he would be coming back out. The next time he was out, he could be a Raven for all he knew. Andrew can’t believe that one person could be that _stupid._ He can’t believe that someone could be stupid enough to put their own life on the line for his. He had told Neil to stand down before but that was the other thing about Neil, he didn’t listen. Neil didn’t listen because Neil never listens and now look what that’s gotten him. 

It takes Andrew a few minutes to register that he’s angry. Andrew is extremely angry. He wants to punch something which is ridiculous because he’s not supposed to _feel_ anything. And he definitely isn’t supposed to feel anything because of Neil. He isn’t supposed to feel anything for anyone never mind someone made up of more lies than truths. If he had to guess, he’d say that Neil had more lies flowing through him than he did blood. He isn’t supposed to feel something more than malice for someone that dangerous. Neil isn’t supposed to mean a damn thing to him, especially without the meds clouding his judgement. The meds were now out of his system and Neil was supposed to have been wiped out with them, but he’s still there. Neil is still under his skin and in his veins but he’s gone. Neil. Is. Gone. 

“Damn it, Minyard! I’ve been calling your name for five minutes!” Coach Wymack exclaims, shaking Andrew from his thoughts. It seemed that Wymack had pulled over at some point. Andrew hadn’t even noticed. He meets his coach with a blank stare. 

“Andrew, you need to tell me what’s happening. What did Kevin say?” Wymack asks. There’s a hint of desperation in his voice. Andrew feared that his voice would give away the same desperation when he answered.

“Oh coach, it seems that our resident liar has fooled us yet again,” Andrew replies. “Apparently he decided to spend his holidays with the birds.”

“Jesus Christ, he’s at Edgar Allen, isn’t he?” Wymack curses. Andrew nods in response. 

“I’ll kill that little fuck Riko! God damn it, I knew that Josten could be stupid but how could he be that stupid? Did Kevin tell you why he went?” Wymack questions. Neil may be stupid, but Andrew isn’t. He won’t give up the information that Kevin gave him that easily. He will not show his cards to Wymack right now, _no_ he would keep them up his sleeve. Andrew wasn’t stupid enough to think that his coach hadn’t picked up on whatever it was going on between himself and Neil. Wymack was a man of truth and could see right through gossip and bullshit. He would figure out Neil’s reasons soon enough. Right now, Andrew had more important things to talk about.

“Drive me to the airport.” Andrew says. It isn’t a question, it is a command. If Wymack is smart enough to pick up on a simple change between his two players, he can understand that Andrew will not take no as an answer to his request.

“You can’t just storm in there and take Neil back,” Wymack starts. “You could get yourself into some serious shit with the Moriyamas, Andrew. We need a plan.”

“ _We_ don’t need anything. You are not coming with me.” Andrew says.

“Now hold o-”

“I have a plan. The only part you are involved in is getting me to Upstate Regional. I can take it from there.” Andrew says. There was no negotiating here. He would not feel any guilt on account of Neil’s stupidity. He would, however, be bringing Neil home. _Home._ Palmetto was Neil’s home and Andrew wasn’t going to let someone as insignificant as Riko Moriyama keep Neil from where he belonged. 

“What are you not understanding, Minyard? I am not letting you run into Evermore alone. You might not care about your own well-being you crazy idiot, but I do.” Wymack says. He seemed to be putting his foot down, Andrew mused. It was cute, especially if he thought it would be enough to stop Andrew. 

“Who said I was going in alone?”

Wymack’s brows furrows at the question. It seemed that he wasn’t expecting this kind of response to his ranting. “If you’re not going alone and your plan doesn’t involve me, then who does it involve you going with? I seem to remember you not trusting anyone with one of your own.”

“Oh coach, you appear to be forgetting who I attempted to pawn our mischievous little fox off on in the first place,” Andrew responds. “I am not going to Edgar Allen alone, but I do need to make one more call.” Realization seems to wash over Wymack’s face as Andrew reaches for his phone. It had finally turned back on after plugging it into the charger in Wymack’s car. He scrolls through his phone as his coach turns the car back on and gets them back onto the road. This call is answered after only two rings. 

“Andrew? Is everything alright?”

“Hello, Renee." Andrew greets, the ghost of his former trademark smile tugging at his lips. "I’m enlisting you for a little prison break, are you in?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter to start off with, but there's definitely more to come. Thanks to Marwa for letting me bounce some ideas for the start of this fic off of you & Kalina for the feedback<333 I don't think this will end up being a super long fic, but who knows lol 
> 
> Follow me on my other social media:  
> twitter: strayminhos  
> curiouscat (you can ask me questions there!!): strayminhos  
> tumblr: foxesjostens


	2. Not even bent yet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for what happened w drake + easthaven, violence carried out by riko, cuts bruises bleeding etc, implied sexual assault

Neil Josten woke up in a cold sweat with a scream trapped at the back of his throat. It was the third time this week that he had startled awake like this. He had reached under his pillow for a gun or a knife or _anything_ that could stop his father from k-... It takes him a few minutes to realize where he is and once he does, he knows that he has no hidden defence under his pillow. He may not be fighting off his father here at the Nest, but that doesn’t keep the nightmares at bay. Because his newest nightmare has access to him in ways his father does not. At least not for now.

“What is it?” Jean Moreau hisses from somewhere in the darkness. _Darkness._ That seemed to be one of the only things The Nest could offer him. Neil was pretty sure it was beginning to make him claustrophobic. Hearing Jean’s voice instead of Riko’s is also a surprise. Neil had almost forgotten that Riko had pawned him off onto Jean and his room only after a couple of days (Or weeks? Neil had lost track of time due to the Raven’s sixteen hour days. It was disorienting to say the least). Riko was still able to come in and cause trouble for the both of them and he appeared to have more fun causing said trouble and leaving the mess in someone else’s room. 

“Nathaniel, what is it?” Jean asks again.

“If you call me that again, you will not live to see the morning.” Neil says back. He may be whispering, but he makes sure to let the heat seep into his voice. He is not Nathaniel and he never will be, no matter who tries to tell him otherwise.

“You know what will happen if you continue to go by one of your false identities,” Jean says. “There is no reason for you to make this harder on us than it already is.” Somewhere in the back of his mind, Neil knows that Jean is right. He knows that it might just be better for everyone involved if he just surrenders. Surrendering to his so called “king” could make a world of difference for him and Jean. It could make things for the Foxes even easier. 

Riko had already told Neil that he would lay off the Foxes under “one simple condition.” The condition, of course, was in no way simple in Neil’s eyes. Riko would leave the Foxes alone if Neil signed a contract with the Ravens. The contract would end The Foxes season seeing as how they would no longer have enough players on their line, but something in Neil almost made him want to sign the contract every time Riko brought it up. His freedom in exchange for his friend’s safety wasn’t the worst trade he’d ever have to make. He’d given up more for much less before. Riko wanted to rip Neil away from his home and he was using his best tactics to do so. 

“Leave me alone and go back to sleep.” Neil spits back. 

“This is a fight that you are not going to win. I am not talking solely about your name or names rather,” Jean starts. “You have too much fight in you even after days on days of Riko and the Master trying to beat it out of you. The more you fight, the more they will try to squash that down inside of you. You need to stop fighting them. You will never win.”

“Is that what happened to you?” Neil asks. He was never one to avoid a low blow.

“What happened to me is none of _your_ business, you petulant child.” Jean says back. Neil notes that his question might’ve struck a nerve. Oops.

“Maybe the problem is that you are too compliant. You’ll do anything he says as soon as he says it. You can call me whatever the hell you want to call me, but don’t you dare tell me to stop fighting. I’d rather die than stop fighting.” The heat in Neil’s voice has grown into a fire. As enticing as the Foxes safety sounds, Neil knows that he is not a compliant person. He would never be able to live the way that Jean had for so many years. Once the fight in Neil died he believed that he would go along with it. 

“You know nothing about my fight, _Nathaniel,_ ” Jean snaps. “I did not get to walk into the Nest. I was carried in kicking and screaming. I am here because my parents decided that the only value my life had was monetary. Compliance is what has kept me alive all of these years. Riko made sure to stomp out any flames of a fight that I had in me long ago and I will _not_ let you ignite that in me or anyone else here. All it will do is cause more trouble and even more pain. Use your head, you stupid infant.”

Neil could not picture Jean Moreau having any fight in him. He couldn’t imagine his partner doing anything besides taking the bruises and the broken fingers, patching them up, and moving on with his day. He could, however, imagine what it took to extinguish that in him. Neil was no stranger to cruelty, so it wasn’t hard for him to picture what had broken Jean Moreau. 

“Yeah well, fighting back is what keeps me alive. I’ve made it this far that way and I’m not going to change now. He cannot break me. He doesn’t know how to break someone like me.” Neil says. He hears Jean scoff in the darkness.

“You consider a life on the run living?” Jean asks, sarcasm dripping from his voice like honey.

“I consider a life away from my father living. Nothing could be worse than being back in his reach. Not a damn thing.” Silence. The silence struck Neil as Jean being at a loss for words. 

“Go to sleep, Na-.” Jean stops. “Neil. Go to sleep, Neil.”

-

Neil never managed to fall back asleep after his conversation with Jean. He isn’t sure which part of it bothered him the most: him underestimating Jean, the predicament he was currently in, or the odd heat that flared in his chest whenever he thought about how Riko must’ve broken Jean. Violence and destruction had stopped bothering Neil long ago, so he still can’t quite put his finger on why his partner’s sorry state was gnawing at him the way it was. 

It’s not until in between afternoon practice and night practice when Neil figures it out. Jean shoves a plate of tasteless food in front of him as they sit down to yet another uncomfortable dinner. They’re both bruised and bloody. Between the two of them, there are four broken fingers, one split lip, countless bruises and cuts, and not one missed practice. Both are still in absurd amounts of pain resulting from Riko’s visit to their room in the early morning hours. He hadn’t taken it easy on either of them. He never did. 

It had taken Neil less than 24 hours to realize what was bothering him the most. It wasn’t his own pain, it never was. It wasn’t the fact that he had perhaps underestimated his partner, he was over that. No, Neil’s anger was coming from a spot of clarity. He could finally see it. His conversation with Jean last night had shed light on something he hadn’t wanted to think about, his and Jean Moreau’s similarities. There were more than there should have been. There was, however, a drastic difference. Neil was the before and Jean was the after. Jean was what happened when a person could no longer hold their own. Jean was what happened when you won no battles _and_ lost the war. 

Maybe in some ways Jean was the before as well. In some ways, he was Neil before coming to the Foxhole Court. Defeated, alone, and falling apart (in private of course). In other ways, he was Neil after coming to the Nest. Jean was what Tetsuji was expecting Neil to become. Obedient, compliant, and silent. It was also what Riko was planning on turning Neil into. It was the reason for all of the “personal attention.” Neil wasn’t entirely sure which version bothered him more, the before image or the after. He did know that every new cut and bruise on his partner had made the heat in his chest flare up more and more. It wasn’t that he liked Jean or even that he pitied him. Neil understood Jean. He understood what it was like to want to give up. Just because he never had didn’t mean that he couldn’t sympathize. Jean’s giving up made him wonder if he would’ve given up if his mother never would’ve taken him and run. He could have ended up just like Jean. So no, Neil decided that he may not like Jean, but he did understand him and that was more than enough. 

-

Night practice is brutal. Neil knows that he should be used to playing while injured by now, but the ache in his broken fingers is anything but dull. The split lip Riko gave him that morning had opened up again, spilling blood down his chin and onto his neck. Neil didn’t bother wiping it away until after practice. It wasn’t the only blood shed that night. 

“What’s gotten into you?” Jean asks in French on the way back to their room. Riko is not around, at least not yet, so they’re free to speak in the language he seems to despise. _It’s not the language,_ Neil had thought to himself on one of his first days in the Nest. _It’s a secret he can’t be let in on. And it’s a reminder of Kevin. Kevin, who had gotten away._

“What do you mean?” Neil asks back. He wasn’t sure what Jean was asking him about. He had swore that he’d been on his best behavior during practice. Neil and his partner had been pretty worse for wear since his arrival and he wasn’t sure how much more he could take. He really wasn’t sure how much more Jean could take. He needed a break from fighting today.

“You were,” Jean pauses. “Civil. Or a lesser equivalent to that. You started no problems tonight, which we both know is a startling fact.”

Jean was right. Neil hadn’t started a fight. He had taken hit after hit. He had been slammed into the floor more times than he could remember and he had gotten back up after all of them, with Jean’s help every time. “I was too tired tonight,” Neil says. It’s not a lie, but it’s also not the truth. His reasons go deeper than just being tired, but Jean doesn’t need to know that. “I doubt that practice was the end of the brutality we’ll be facing tonight, so I decided that it would be better to save my energy.” 

“Interesting.” Jean remarks. He couldn’t see through a lie as easily as another could. Jean knew something was up, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. He couldn’t see through any of Neil’s lies the way Andrew could. Andrew. It was impossible to forget about him, Neil was here to keep him safe, but he still finds that Andrew hadn’t been on his mind in a while. _All I have to do is make it through another week, or is it two?_ Neil wondered. _If I can manage that, if I can get myself out of here, I can make sure he’s safe._ He needed Andrew to be safe.

He knew that him and the goalie had a rough start, but Neil and Andrew had come to an agreement. They’d come to multiple actually, the most recent one being the only agreement that Neil had failed to meet. Neil was supposed to protect Kevin and the rest of their lot while Andrew was gone. In Andrew’s eyes, Neil was supposed to take up post as Kevin’s shadow the same way that he did. In Neil’s eyes, he was keeping everyone including Kevin safe, just not in the way he had promised Andrew. Kevin and the others would be safe in New York with Matt and his mother. It was Andrew who wouldn’t be safe. Andrew was the one who needed protecting this time. So yes, in Neil’s eyes he was keeping his promise. He was protecting Andrew’s lot, including Andrew. _Andrew…_ Neil is shaken from his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder.

“Look alive.” Jean hisses. Neil has the perfect retort, but it dies on his tongue as he realizes why Jean had snapped at him out of nowhere. Riko, flanked by two senior ravens, was making a beeline for them.

“Nathaniel,” Riko greets. “Nice job tonight at practice. Although, it seemed that you were missing your usual _bite._ ” As if on cue, one of the other Ravens takes a half step towards Neil while he mimics taking a bite. It shouldn’t bother him, but Neil knows that it isn’t just a harmless joke. Riko had told the others about the nasty teeth marks he had left in Neil earlier that morning. His stomach lurches. 

“No bite from me.” Neil says through gritted teeth. It is taking everything to hold himself back.

“Have I broken my new toy already?” Riko asks as he stepped in front of Neil. “What a shame. I vaguely remember someone saying that it wouldn’t be so flimsy.”

He’s referencing what Neil had spat at him on his first day in the Nest. Neil can picture the scene in his head. Tetsuji had beaten him with his cane twice that day, had left him behind in a bloody heap on the floor for Riko to deal with. Riko had told Neil that he would be one of the easiest people for him to break. _I’ll be able to do this in no time._ But Neil, bleeding and beginning to bruise, had looked up and told Riko that he could never break him no matter how hard he tried. It was clear that Riko thought he was beginning to have the upper hand. 

“You think you broke me already? You’re wrong. I’m not even bent yet.” Neil says, his voice filled with defiance. He wasn’t going to take anymore shit today. Neil had had enough.  
_Fuck compliancy and fuck being tired. Enough._

“Watch what you say and how you say it to me, Nathaniel. If you don’t return to your proper place, I will have to teach you another lesson. And trust me, it will make this morning’s seem gentle.” Riko whispers. He’s close enough to kill, if only Neil had the chance.

“You can try to teach me all you want, but my ‘proper place’ isn’t here. I belong at Palmetto and soon enough I will be back there.” Neil says back. Neither Jean nor Neil miss the anger burning behind Riko’s eyes or the tenison that sets in his shoulders. It’s obvious that he was not expecting anymore defiance. 

“Wrong answer, Nathaniel.” Riko says. “Fernandez, Lee, accompany Nathaniel and Jean to their room. I’ll be right behind you.” Neil can hear the smile in his words. He hears it over and over again as he struggles to get the older Ravens’ hands off of him. 

Neil and Jean are shoved down the hallway towards their room. Rather, Neil is shoved down the hallway while Jean marches behind him with Fernandez on his arm. Neil doesn’t miss the way that Jean puts up no fight. The heat in his stomach is becoming more and more familiar to him. 

“Get _off_ of me.” Neil snarls at Lee. That earns him a fist to the face. That’s only the beginning. Neil is pushed through the door and shoved onto what is his bed for the time being. He knows what comes next. Handcuffs, handcuffs come next. But handcuffs signify being trapped and Neil can’t handle being trapped right now. Unfortunately, it’s not up to him. He hears the click of handcuffs from the other side of the room. They had already gotten Jean and now it was his turn. Neil can feel the panic rising in his throat.

Neil is ready to fight back, but something stops him. Shouting. How did they not notice all the shouting coming from down the hall?

“What the _hell?_ ” He hears Riko yell. He sounded surprised, shocked even. What could possibly shock the king in his own castle? 

“I’m calling the police! This is trespassing!” Someone yells. Neil can hear pounding footsteps making their way towards his room. He wants to scream. He wants to alert the intruder that he’s here and he needs help _god damn it._ He doesn’t even have time to open his mouth to shout because the knob on the door starts to jiggle.

“I locked it.” Fernandez says. 

Yes, Joseph Fernandez _did_ lock the door. He knew that Riko had a key to every Ravens room, so he had been cautious enough to lock the door behind them while they waited for Riko. And a locked door would stop most people. However, it appeared that the people who managed to pick the lock, with ease, aren’t the type who could be stopped by such a simple deterrent. The door bursts open and Neil is ready to assume the worst but instead, he’s the one met with a shock this time. The two people in the door are the last people Neil had expected to see at Edgar Allen, especially because one of them is supposed to be undergoing treatment at Easthaven Hospital.

“Andrew?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so holy crap i did not expect this to get any attention but yall really gave me a ridiculous amount of support on the first chapter i cannot believe fdjdfj i wanted to get another chapter out to yall kinda quickly to return the favor lol but really thank you so much for all the support yall have shown this piece so far!!
> 
> follow me on my other social media:  
> twitter: strayminhos  
> curiouscat (you can ask me questions here!!): strayminhos  
> tumblr: foxesjostens


	3. Get in the taxi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for riko's abuse + easthaven mention + brusing, bleeding, etc + implied sexual assault + violence

For a man afraid of heights, flying should be something to avoid. You fly and then you fall, you always fall. Or at least it seemed that Andrew always fell. If flying weren’t bad enough, being sandwiched between two strangers would take the cake. _Neil, this is all Neil’s fault,_ Andrew thinks to himself. Sure, Neil wasn’t asking to be saved. But Andrew hadn’t asked either and yet, both of them had sprung into action as soon as they realized what would happen to the other. Andrew tries to ignore the strange feeling in his stomach at that train of thought. Maybe he can pass it off as butterflies. Or better yet, he’ll ignore it.

It hadn’t taken much convincing to get Renee to abandon her holiday plans, and Reynolds, to meet him in West Virginia. Once she had gotten past the surprise of Andrew’s early release, it didn’t take long for her to realize that something wasn’t right. Andrew didn’t have to say much about the situation, he never really had to say much to get Renee to understand things, because she began to fill in the blanks herself. Andrew had offered to pay for her plane ticket only to lose that battle to Allison Reynolds. She had claimed that it was “the only Christmas gift she’d ever give him.” He almost made a mental note to thank her later. Almost.

The flight seems to leave Andrew to his thoughts. He had only just gotten out of Easthaven a few hours ago and he was already all out of whack. The drugs were out of his system. He wasn’t supposed to feel anything anymore. No mania induced smiles, no sparks of interest, no fear. Andrew had been banking on feeling nothing, especially for one specific troublemaker and yet here he was traveling out of state to get him back. To keep him safe. Andrew decides that it’s better to start ignoring his feelings again. 

-

“Andrew!” 

Andrew turns to where he hears his name being called from even though he already knows who the owner of the voice is. Renee Walker, the only person he would even consider taking into a fight like this. Sure, it wasn’t a fight now, but it would become one soon enough. Both him and Renee were smart enough to know that.

“Hello, Andrew.” Renee greets as she approaches him. “You’re looking well.”

“Hello, Renee.” He says back. 

“I know you well enough to know that I should just skip the formalities and pleasantries. I guess we should just get right to it. How are we going about this, Andrew? We both know that Edgar Allen is not a place that we can just walk in and out of as we please. We are definitely unwelcome there to say the least.” Renee starts. She wasn’t wrong. No fox, especially Andrew, was welcome at Edgar Allen. Sure, they had their eye on two Foxes, but they did not consider them what they were. Riko still saw Kevin as a Raven and Neil as a sort of in between. Andrew assumed that if they didn’t get there fast enough, Riko would _make_ Neil a Raven.

“Neil isn’t dumb enough to sign a contract with them,” Andrew replies. “That would be the only reason Riko could keep him there. They cannot keep him there if he is still a fox.”

“He will always be a fox, but we both know Neil. If he believed that it could help any of us, he would put his life in danger. He did put his life in danger for that exact reason. I’m beginning to fear that we might be too late.” Renee says. Pessimism did not look good on Renee. She spent most of her time bouncing between an optimist and a realist, and this switch of pace did nothing for Andrew’s frayed nerves. 

“It’s not too late until I say it’s too late. We _will_ get in there and we _will_ get out of there, with Neil. Our plan? Simple. You defend yourself and I will defend myself.” Andrew says as if it could really be that simple. Renee answers with a nod. She knows there is no point in fighting Andrew on this. All fighting will do is waste time that Neil might not have. The nod is all Andrew needs to get the ball rolling. The two head for the airport doors in search of a taxi. 

“Andrew,” Renee stops. “This may be bad timing but I have to ask. What has changed? I assumed you still thought of Neil as a problem. I didn’t think you would rush into harm’s way for someone you deemed a problem.” Once again, she was right. This was very bad timing.

“This is nothing but a rescue mission, Walker. It means nothing,” Andrew says. “If we don’t get him back, our season will be done for and we will never hear the end of it from Kevin. Consider this to be a favor from me to all of you. And plus, I will not have your teammates pinning this on me. I didn’t ask for the idiot to try to save me. He should have known better. I do not and never will need saving.” 

“Okay, Andrew. It’s funny though, Neil also did not ask to be saved but here we are.” Renee muses as she hails a taxi. 

Andrew did not have time for any of this. He wasn’t going to let Renee pick his brain, he had Bee for that. And he definitely was not going to let her interrogate him over Neil. Neil was nothing to him. Neil meant nothing to him. “Get in the taxi, Walker.”

-

He would never admit it, but Andrew might have gotten himself in too deep here. He and Renee didn’t take into account the amount of security the stadium would have. They didn’t realize how many people would be milling about. It wasn’t like they could fight their way into the stadium in broad daylight. Lucky for the duo, the sun is setting by the time they get to Edgar Allen. They have to wait it out, but they both know that night is the best time to strike. They don’t, however, know exactly how they’re going to go about this strike. There is no way to make a solid plan in this situation because they aren’t sure what they’re going to walk into. Renee and Andrew can argue plans all they want, but there’s no telling which will work best until they’re inside.

There isn’t much room for a failure here. It wasn’t exactly like Riko could imprison them at Edgar Allen. He had already attempted to do his worst to Andrew and he had survived it the same way he had survived everything else that life had done to him. There was nothing that a spoiled castoff like Riko could do to hurt Andrew. He had the upper hand there. But Riko had home court advantage. He knew all the in’s and out’s of Castle Evermore and the Nest. Riko knew every nook and cranny. Renee would pray for the best. Andrew would not. He would not hope or pray for a good outcome. No, Andrew would wait for the sun to finish setting and dive headfirst into whatever Evermore and Riko threw at him. 

-

“I believe that now would be as good a time as any, but we do have a bit of a problem.” 

“And which problem would you be referring to this time?” Andrew asks. Renee and Andrew had spent the time they had to kill arguing strategies and their contingency plans. It was almost like they were back at Palmetto having their normal discussions about plans for survival in an apocalypse, except the plans that they’d been working on today had to be airtight. These plans were going to be used in a real life situation, with no zombies involved.

“Well, we can’t exactly knock, Andrew. We also cannot cause too big of a scene, especially with security patrolling the area,” Renee sighs. “I was hoping we wouldn’t have to do this, but I think we are going to have to take at least one of the guards out.”

“Ah, I was wondering when your spine would make an appearance. I was beginning to assume that you had swapped yours out with Kevin’s.” Andrew says.

“Very funny.” Renee replies back dryly. Andrew offers a blank stare back in response. 

Renee scans the area in search of the security guard closest to the entrance of the stadium. It doesn’t take her long to spot the man. “Six feet, somewhere around one hundred and eighty pounds, and he has keys. I would say that he is our best best, Andrew.” Renee observes.

“Well then Joan of Exy, I believe you’re up.” Andrew says. 

“I believe I am. I would ask you to wish me luck, but I don’t think that either of us believe in that sort of thing.” Renee says back.

_Luck..._ Andrew is instantly thrown back into a conversation that he had with Neil from what seems like forever ago. 

_“Do you believe in fate?”_

_Neil hadn’t missed the scorn in the other boy’s voice. “No. Do you?”_

_“Luck then,” Andrew, who had been masquerading as Aaron had said back in an attempt to ignore Neil’s question._

_“Only the bad sort.”_

_“We’re flattered by your high opinion of us, of course.”_

Only the bad sort indeed. “Smart girl. Call me if you need back up.” Andrew says. 

Renee nods at his response and heads towards the guard. _Let’s see what you got, Walker._

-

One unconscious security guard later and Andrew and Renee were in. Renee had been the better of the two to send into the situation. On the outside, she looked innocent. Pastel hair, casual clothing, and a cross necklace around her neck. She was a force to be reckoned with that everyone, minus the foxes, seemed to underestimate. Oh, if only the guard hadn’t been conned by her appearance. Perhaps he would wake up still employed. 

The descent into the Nest is dark and unsettling to say the least. It takes multiple keys and attempts to find their way down there. Andrew wonders if the Ravens could even remember what the sky looks like. He hoped they couldn’t. “Andrew, living quarters appear to be down this hallway.” Renee whispers.

The two turn to head down the hallway, only to be interrupted. _Uh oh…_

“What the _hell?_ ”

“Hello, Riko,” Andrew greets. “I think you have something of mine and I do remember telling you multiple times now that I don’t share.” Andrew almost takes satisfaction from the unmistakable shock on Riko Moriyama’s face, but he can tell that he’s interrupted something. The question is, what exactly did they catch Riko in the middle of? 

“Doe, you’re supposed to be in Easthav-” This time it’s Riko being interrupted. It must not have taken long for the other security guards to find their injured co-worker seeing as how multiple guards had now flooded into the room with Tetsuji Moriyama. Neither Andrew nor Renee are stupid enough to stick around. They make a run for the living quarters in search of their lost fox. 

“I’m calling the police! This is trespassing!” Someone yells behind them. There’s no time to stop. Riko had looked like he’d been caught red handed when they arrived and Andrew was smart enough to put together what that could mean.

“Start opening doors and get your lockpicks ready. Neil has to be behind one of these.” Renee says. It appeared that she had come to the same realization that Andrew had. Neil was behind one of the doors and neither had a clue as to what could be happening to him. 

Renee and Andrew alternate throwing doors open, well aware of the security guards behind them. There’s no time to stop. It’s over if they stop. Five doors down, they come upon the first locked one. “Andrew, you handle the door. I’ll handle security.” Renee says. It wouldn’t be the first time Renee had held her own against multiple men. Andrew was well aware that she could handle herself, so he got to work. 

It doesn’t take a skilled lock picker like Andrew long to get the door open. Later on, he’ll remember hearing someone say that they had locked the door, as if that could keep him out. It would almost get a laugh out of him. But right now, there was no laughing to be done. He had opened the door onto a scene that he had unfortunately been prepared for. Neil had been handcuffed to a bed. Injured seemed like the wrong word to describe the sight of Neil. It didn’t seem intense enough to describe what Andrew was looking at. It definitely didn’t seem intense enough to explain the cold rage filling Andrew’s stomach. _Battered._ Neil was battered. He hears Renee gasp at his side. She must’ve turned away and finally seen Neil, or what used to be Neil.

“Andrew?” Neil asks. His voice sets every hair on the back of Andrew’s neck on end. He may be battered and bruised, but underneath all of that (and the new hair color, how strange) he was still Neil. And it was time for Neil to come home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all are still blowing me away with the support you've given this work so far & i really really appreciate it! hope you liked this chapter!
> 
> follow me on my other social media:  
> twitter: strayminhos  
> curiouscat: strayminhos  
> tumblr: foxesjostens


	4. Another Corner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for violence, injuries, blood, panic attack

Of all the ways their so called “prison break” could have ended up, Andrew didn’t see it being anything like this. Renee, Andrew, and Neil were being marched down one of the Nest’s hallways. They were led by Tetsuji, surprisingly not Riko, and flanked by a few security guards. Hopefully for their sake, they would not underestimate Renee this time. Andrew knew he would not be underestimated or at least not in any of the ways that mattered right now. Tetsuji opens a door on his right and turns the lights on. It’s a small room, dimly lit with a table and a few chairs. It seemed that they were about to have a discussion of sorts. _What could possibly go wrong…_

“Andrew Minyard. Renee Walker.” Tetsuji begins as everyone sits down. “Quite a stunt the two of you attempted to pull here. Are either of you truly arrogant enough to believe that you could pull off something like this? Breaking and entering is a crime and I do intend to call the police. Charges will be pressed.”

“Oh lovely, shall we report what has happened to Neil then too? His current shape can only be explained by him being the victim of some heinous crime and I do believe it is time to report it, don’t you?” Renee says back. Tetsuji Moriyama was not prepared to face the storm that is Renee Walker. Tisk tisk, another man who had chosen to underestimate her. 

“Send these security guards away. I won’t discuss anything with them here.” Andrew says to Tetsuji. Andrew didn’t need an audience, especially with the leverage he had to hold over Tetusuji’s head.

“Absolutely not.”

“Then bring on the police. I have a lot to tell them.” Neil says. It’s the first thing he’s said since he called out to Andrew. His voice sounds rough and strained. Andrew is already thinking about new ways to kill Riko.

Tetsuji Moriyama had let himself be backed into a corner without even realizing he had done so. He’d led everyone into this room thinking that he had the upper hand only to have that torn away from him. He has no response to what has just been said. “All of you,” Tetsuji says as he motions to the security guards. “Out. Get out.”

The guards pause for a moment before exiting the room. They hadn’t expected that they would be sent away. Clearly, nothing was going to plan for anyone tonight.

“What do you want?” Tetsuji asks. His voice is all ice. No Moriyama, regardless of what branch they are from, take well to being questioned. Andrew isn’t dumb enough to believe that this situation will have a good outcome.

“We are taking Neil back to Palmetto State. He is a fox and it is time for him to go home.” Renee states cooly. If she’s feeling the pressure of the situation, she isn’t showing it.

“Andrew.” Neil says in German. “We need to take Jean.”

_Jean?_ “Absolutely not.” Andrew says back, well aware of the Moriyama sliding him dirty looks.

“He’ll get killed if I leave him here. He was already left behind once and I’m not letting that happen again. I will not leave without him.” Neil explains.

Difficult. Andrew finds that in this situation, and just about always, difficult is the best word to describe Neil Josten. “We’re also taking Moreau.” Andrew chimes in.

“You will get neither.” Tetsuji says back.

Now it’s Renee’s turn to send a dirty look Tetsuji’s way. “I think we’re done here Coach Moriyama. I also think it is time to get your school’s president involved in this situation. I think he would love to finally be informed about what really goes on down here.” If Tetsuji’s voice had been filled with ice, then Renee’s had been all steel. Hard and unforgiving. This was not a fight that Renee would lose easily. 

“Jean Moreau is not mine to give away. You know nothing of what happens here and that includes Jean Moreau. He is a permanent fixture here until the end of his college career.” Tetsuji says.

“Kevin wasn’t yours to give away either, but where is he now? Ah, you haven’t forgotten about Kevin Day and his so called ‘skiing accident’, have you?” Andrew asks. “You either give us both of the people we are asking for or we will go to the press. Kevin’s injury and the real story behind it will be everywhere by tomorrow morning. So, how about we try this again? Give us Josten and Moreau and we’ll be out of your hair.” Judging by the look on everyone’s face, Andrew’s plan had had its desired effect. This had been his own sort of secret plan that he had come up with on his plane ride to West Virginia. He was prepared for the worst, he always was, and he knew that using Kevin’s injury as leverage would be his best shot at getting his way. Kevin wouldn’t like this. Even better.

The room descends into silence for what seems like forever. Tetsuji had once again let himself get backed into yet another corner. This second time, however, was much worse. He knew the type of backlash that would come along with a story like that even if it wasn’t true. Kevin Day was one of Exy’s golden boys and his injury had been a tragedy. How would the public react to finding out that Tetsuji had hidden what had really happened and who had caused said tragedy? Oh yes, Tetsuji Moriyama was trapped.

“Take them. Take them both and go. _Now._ ”

-

The walk back to Neil and Jean’s room is silent. Neil had been so caught up in seeing Andrew again that he had forgotten about his partner. Their meeting with Tetsuji had a surprising lack of Riko, but Neil wasn’t naive enough to think that that meant he was playing nice. He wasn’t sure what state the three of them would find Jean in. Neil shudders at the thought. But even with Jean on his mind, Neil find that his thoughts still go back to Andrew. He’s walking side by side with the goalie, Renee a few steps behind. He’s close enough to Andrew that he can feel the heat radiating off him. It’s both disorienting and grounding all at once.

“I don’t know what we’re walking into.” Neil says, finally breaking the silence.

“No different from what we walked in on earlier I would assume.” Andrew says back. He sounds angry. Was he angry? Was his pissed off about coming to rescue Neil and everything that had happened after? _I didn’t ask him to come and save me,_ Neil thinks.

All trains of thought come to a screeching halt when Neil and the others finally get to Jean. Neil opens the door for them only to find Jean in a heap on the floor. _There’s blood everywhere._ Neil says to himself. It’s hard to see the extent of Jean’s injuries with the way he is curled up on the floor. His position, arms cradling his head, tells Neil that he’d probably taken blows to the head. Jean was not and never would be Neil’s favorite person, but he had spent day after day patching Neil up at the Nest. It was time to return the favor. 

Neil and Renee quickly cross the room to Jean while Andrew stays by the door. There was, once again, a surprising lack of Riko in the room which sets off alerts in everyone’s heads. There would only be so much time before he would find his way to them.

“Jean,” Neil says softly. He bends down by his fallen partner and shakes him. “Jean, you need to get up. It’s time to go.” Jean groans in response. His eyes are still shut. Neil can’t tell if he is fully conscious or not. _How far did Riko go this time?_

“Jean, it is time to get up. It’s time to patch you up. We’re both leaving.” Neil says in French. There’s an unfamiliar softness in his voice. He almost doesn’t recognize his own voice. 

Jean’s eyes slowly begin to open at Neil’s last sentence. The calm in Neil’s voice does nothing to erase the panic in his partner’s eyes. “What do you mean? Neither of us can go anywhere.” Jean mumbles. 

“We can,” Neil starts. “We made a deal with Tetsuji. Both of us are out of here. I need you to get up so we can get out of here before he changes his mind.” Neil’s explanation seems to throw Jean into a full on panic. It wasn’t the reaction he had been expecting. 

Renee finally breaks her silence at the sight of Jean’s panic attack. “Hello, Jean. There is no need for anymore worrying today. I know that may be hard to believe, all of this may be hard to believe, but it is time for all of us to go. You have suffered enough for today. We won’t make things any harder for you, I promise. Come with us.” 

The panic in Jean’s eyes appears to die down a bit. Renee is slow to put a comforting hand on him, asking for permission with her eyes before doing so. When he gives a gentle nod in response, she places her hand on his shoulder. Neil wonders when the last time someone touched Jean without the intent to inflict pain was. Renee’s efforts seem to do the trick. Jean is on the tail end of his panic attack by the time he lets Renee help him off of the floor. She’s careful and patient as she gets him to his feet. 

Jean’s new injuries are on display now. Andrew and Renee’s arrival had cost him severely. There was blood, most likely from a broken nose, and bruises beginning to form all over his body. Neil knew that he’d probably have a couple of broken fingers and that he would most likely need stitches. Him and Jean were the definition of worse for wear and it was starting to set in for the both of them. Soon, exhaustion would take over. Now was the time to go.

There isn’t much to pack between Jean and Neil. Neither boy had many things that they would want to take with them even though Jean had lived there for a good portion of his life. Renee seems to do most of Jean’s packing all while soothing him. He continues to ask Neil questions about their deal with Tetsuji in panicked French while Neil tries his best to give calm responses. Neil isn’t sure he would’ve been able to get Jean to leave without Renee’s help. She seemed to be gently pushing him through the motions of packing up and leaving. Jean was not ready to leave the Nest, a form of Stockholm Syndrome maybe, but Neil knows that Jean would’ve never been ready to leave here regardless of the circumstances. 

If Renee and Neil had to drag him out of Evermore, then they would. Jean was never safe here to begin with, but leaving him now after what had went on tonight would be as good as signing his death certificate. If Jean was left here once again, Neil knew something, be it Riko or Jean himself, would end up killing him. He wouldn’t make it to the end of the year at Edgar Allen. 

-

Andrew should’ve known that their escape had been going too smoothly. They’d all been waiting to run into Riko at some point and now apparently now was that time. Andrew makes sure to shove Neil behind him when he sees Riko storming towards them. Renee does the same with Jean. Riko Moriyama would not lay another finger on anyone tonight. There’s no avoiding the rage on the striker’s face. It was clear that Tetsuji had informed him of the deal that had been made.

“I will _not_ let you diseased dogs take my things away again. You two,” Riko motions to Renee and Andrew. “You are not leaving here with my things. You have made the biggest mistake of your lives coming here and trying to cross me. No one is leaving here.”

“Foxes,” Renee says. “We are Foxes, Riko. Not dogs.” Anger flares and Riko attempts to make a move for Renee, but he ends up being yet another person to underestimate Renee tonight. It only takes Renee a couple of seconds to knock him to the floor. Andrew almost smiles. 

“Riko,” Tetsuji calls. There is no concern in his voice. It seems that he couldn't care less that his nephew was just knocked off of his feet. “Enough.”

“ _Enough?_ You are letting them steal what is rightfully ours!” Riko screams as he picks himself up off the floor. Both Jean and Neil flinch at the fury in his voice. They were all too aware of what he was capable of. “Jean Moreau is ours! We should have them killed for barging in here and stealing from us. W-”

Riko’s hissy fit is interrupted by Tetsuji’s cane slamming against the floor. The older man was not going to argue with his nephew. Riko may be the king of the castle, but Tetsuji Moriyama was the Master. This is a battle that even Riko knows he will not win. 

“Go.” Tetsuji says. 

The Foxes, and Jean, aren’t sure whether the command is directed at them or Riko, but they take it as their cue to leave. They had seen enough of the Nest and Evermore for a lifetime. The group pushes past Riko and heads for the door. Andrew sees Jean and Neil look back one final time. It makes Andrew push both of the boys in front of him. There was no good reason to look back on a place like Evermore. Andrew could not think of any good reason to take one final glance at the Nest. The only thing this place had brought its inhabitants was years worth of damage. 

Andrew knows that this battle is far from over for any of them. Breaking into the nest had put a target on both his and Renee’s backs. Andrew knew enough about the Moriyama family to know that they did not take well to people like himself and Renee. People like them were dangerous. They were a threat. But Andrew knows that when the time comes, he will be able to handle things for himself just like he always does. There was no reason to worry.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here.” Andrew says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed!! I'm going to be a bit busy for the next week or so, so I wanted to get another chapter up in case i drop off the face of the earth for a couple of days fdhdhj again, thank you all for the wonderful comments it means so so much and thank you for reading!!
> 
> social media  
> twitter: strayminhos  
> curiouscat: strayminhos  
> tumblr: foxesjostens


	5. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw injuries, mentions of what happened at evermore, injuries, panic attacks

Andrew Minyard has decided that he has spent more than enough money on airfare in the last few days to last him a lifetime. He plans on never buying another plane ticket again if he can avoid doing so. The trip back to South Carolina doesn’t go well, but no one had expected it too.  
Renee and Andrew somehow manage to get the two injured boys out of the Nest and into a taxi ten minutes later. Jean is jumpy the whole time. There’s only so much Renee can do to calm his nerves. _He would’ve tucked and rolled out of this cab if Renee weren’t here,_ Andrew thinks to himself. _Pathetic._

The taxi brings them to the airport and after purchasing their tickets, _their very expensive tickets_ , all they can do is wait. The wait isn’t too long, but it’s long enough for Jean to lose his cool again. 

“I have to go back. I need to get back to Evermore.” He breathes out. Jean is hyperventilating again.

“Jean,” Renee says softly as she turns to him. “I know that you do not believe me, but they cannot hurt you now. You are out. You are safe. You do not need to go back there. You have me now. It will be alright.”

Jean doesn’t answer. Instead, he slumps against Renee in lieu of a response. Renee places a hand on his back and rubs in small circles. Andrew feels the need to look away, so he turns to Neil who is sitting to his right. The long days and myriad of injuries seem to be finally be catching up to the striker. He can see that Neil is trying his hardest to keep his eyes open. Andrew snaps his fingers in front of Neil’s face. Neil’s eyes fly open at the sound.

“Hm? Did I fall asleep?” Neil asks. His voice is still as rough as it was back at Edgar Allen. It’s just recognizable enough to stop Andrew from going back to the Nest to finish off Riko.

“Wait until we are on the plane to sleep.” Andrew says back.

“Okay,” Neil agrees. “How long?”

“Not very.”

Silence. _Thank God…_

“Hey Andrew?” Damn it.

Andrew raises an eyebrow at Neil in response. He’d done more than enough talking today. Andrew was tired of talking.

“I just,” Neil starts. “I wanted to say th-”

“Flight 216 to South Carolina is now boarding. Please have your boarding pass and identification ready. Thank you!”

“That’s us.” Renee says as she and Jean rise from their seats. He’s nearly calm.

Andrew almost wants to hear what Neil has to say, but he’s pretty positive that he already knows what is coming. A thank you. Andrew doesn’t want a thank you from Neil. If Neil thanks him, then he will expect a thank you in return and Andrew refuses to give him any gratitude right now. He doesn’t owe Neil anything for the stupid decisions that he made while Andrew was away. 

“Andrew?” Neil calls. 

“Let’s go.”

-

Neil doesn’t remember much of the flight back to South Carolina. He remembers pieces of a conversation with Andrew right before it, but he’d been fighting off sleep during it. What he does remember is seeing Andrew shut down when he was about to thank him. Yup, that Neil remembers. Andrew must’ve really regretted coming down here to save him. 

Neil remembers Coach Wymack and some mumbled cursing. He remembers how excruciatingly painful getting in his car is, the shock had finally worn off, and how getting out is just as painful. He wonders if Jean is in just as much pain. It’s probably worse. No one besides Jean is sure about what happened when he was left alone with Riko after Andrew and Renee’s arrival and Jean is not talking. His partner (ex partner?) is still on red alert and it’s understandable. 

He thinks he feels someone lift him out of the car, but he isn’t sure who it is. The person isn’t big enough to be his coach. Perhaps it had been Renee. He nods when someone asks if he can stand and feels his feet touch the ground. It’s almost like he’s sleepwalking.

Neil only realizes where he is when he hears an extremely familiar gasp at his arrival. Coach had taken them to Abby’s house to get patched up. After some fussing, he hears someone tell him to sleep. _Don’t mind if I do…_

-

“Is this going to be a problem?” 

“You’ll have to be a little more specific here, Coach. There’s been a lot of potential problems in the last few days.” Andrew says. With Renee and Abby tending to Jean, Andrew is left alone with Coach Wymack in Abby’s kitchen. They’d been sitting in peaceful silence before Wymack had finally decided to break it with his vague question. He hopes his Coach is wise enough to stray away from the topic of Neil. He knows that Wymack has more questions and they will eventually go in a direction that Andrew will refuse to follow. He _really_ hopes his Coach is smart enough today. Andrew was all out of patience for the week.

“The Moriyamas.” Wymack replies. _Smart._

“Oh Coach, they’re always a problem. No different now then it was before,” Andrew answers. “We’ve been in danger since the day I let you keep Kevin Day. The threat is no different now.”

“I would love to believe that, but I don’t know if I can when it’s coming from you. You still haven’t exactly told me what happened at Edgar Allen.” Wymack says back.

“Got in, got Neil, and got out. Simple.”

“That doesn’t explain Jean Moreau. How in the hell did you manage to get four people out of there?” Wymack asks.

“You’ll have to ask the junkie about Moreau. That was all his idea. I wanted no part in taking in another broken birdie and you know Renee can’t resist a sob story.” Andrew says.

Wymack sighs. Andrew doesn’t understand why his Coach expects anything different from him. He should’ve known Andrew better by now. “What the hell am I supposed to do with Moreau? The fallout won’t be nearly as bad as it was with Kevin, but it still won’t be good. The Raven’s crazy fans are going to make life hell for the team again.”

“That’s not my problem, Coach.” Andrew says.

“It is your problem. You brought him back here.”

“Would you have rathered us leave him there to die?” Andrew asks.

“Damn it, Minyard!” Wymack curses. “No, of course not.”

Silence again. But once again, the silence doesn’t last very long. This time, however, Andrew is the one to break it. Now is as good a time as any to bring up an idea he had thought about on the trip back. 

“Well, you can’t say it was a skiing injury,” Andrew begins. “But you can use Kevin’s story. Poor Jean Moreau has been terribly injured, maybe it was a car accident. He’s in no shape to play for the rest of the season and he needs to recover somewhere. So, why not recover alongside Kevin Day? It’s his best chance at learning how to play after healing from his injuries, just like Kevin did. The media _and_ the Raven’s fans will eat it up.”

“Shit. That might actually work, Minyard.” Wymack says with a small smile.

“It might.” Neil says. His unannounced entrance startles the smile right off of Coach Wymack’s face. _How long had he been standing there?_ Or maybe it was his appearance that had wiped the grin off of their coach’s face. A few hours of rest had done nothing for Neil. The bags and dark circles under his eyes were just as pronounced as they were when Andrew had first arrived at the Nest. And if anything, his injuries looked worse now than they had earlier. Andrew balls his hand into a fist under the kitchen table at the thought of Neil’s injuries and the person that had caused them.

“I think I need someone to check my stitches. I’d do it myself but…” Neil trails off. Andrew knows what he’s trying to avoid saying. _”I’d do it myself, but I’m in too much pain to move that much._ or _I’d do it myself, but I’m not sure if I can lift my shirt up and off by myself._ The point was that Neil was not going to admit that he was hurting. He knew that Neil considered being hurt equivalent to being weak. Andrew knew better than that. Neil was not and never would be weak. _Idiot._ Andrew stands up and walks to the living room. He knows that Neil will follow. 

“Stay standing.” Andrew says as he sees Neil beginning to brace himself to sit on a couch. Not only is standing easier for him, but it’s easier for Andrew as well. At least his injuries will be easier to check out if he’s standing. 

“Do you want me to get Abby?” Andrew asks. He isn’t sure if Neil is comfortable with him being the one to check on his stitches and the last thing Andrew wants to do is make Neil uncomfortable. He’d been through enough discomfort already.

“Not yet,” Neil says. “If it’s bad, then you can get her. I’d prefer if you looked first.”

“ _If_ it’s bad?” Andrew asks. It was bad. It had been bad the second Neil had stepped foot into the Nest. This was a lot worse than bad.

“You know what I mean.” Neil says. Unsurprisingly, Andrew did know what he meant. Neil meant that he should only get Abby if his injuries looked as bad as they felt. Andrew knew that it wouldn’t be long before he would have to get her.

“Should I assume that you can’t lift your arms up high enough to get your shirt off?” Andrew asks. Neil only nods in reply. _This doesn’t make you weak._

“The easiest option is for me to cut your shirt off of you. Yes or no?” Andrew says. Working around Neil’s shirt won’t be easy, but if Neil says no he will have to deal with the inconvenience. 

“Yes,” Neil says. “You can cut it off.”

Andrew nods. He had given his knives to Neil months ago for safe keeping and he still hadn’t gotten them back. So, Andrew was going to have to improvise. He walks back to the kitchen where Wymack is still sitting and rummages through one of Abby’s drawers to find a scissor. Wymack stops him from leaving the room when he sees what Andrew has come for.

“What the fuck are you doing with that?” Wymack asks.

“Making things easier on the both of us.” Andrew replies.

“Killing Neil isn’t going to make anything easier.”

Ha. It was unlike Wymack to make a joke at a time like this. Maybe all the stress was finally getting to him. “I’m beginning to think that he isn’t as easy to kill as I thought he would be.” Andrew says.

“I’m starting to think so too,” Wymack agrees. “Just be careful with that.” Andrew nods and makes it a point to hold the scissors far from his body. Wymack rolls his eyes and goes back to the newspaper on the table in front of him. 

Neil watches Andrew walk back through the door with the scissors. The tension in his shoulders seems to subside at the sight of them. _Who on Earth would relax at the sight of a scissor?_

“I prefer a pair of scissors to a knife here.” Neil says in response to Andrew’s unasked question. 

Interesting. Even in the pathetic state that Neil was in, he was still interesting. Fuck. “I’m going to cut your shirt up the middle and then I’m going to slide it off of you. Still yes?” Andrew asks.

“Yes. Still yes.”

Andrew nods and gets to work. Neil is only wearing a cotton t-shirt which makes the process easy enough. Andrew glides the scissors from the bottom of Neil’s shirt to the top of it in one fluid motion. Next, he grabs at the two pieces he has just separated with the scissors and slides the shirt off the same way one would a jacket. Andrew may not be the most gentle person, but he is efficient. He can feel Neil’s eyes on him the whole time. 

The only thing left to do is finally take in the disaster that is Neil. Regardless of what he saw at the Nest, Andrew is in no way prepared to look at what has happened to Neil. He almost can’t spot the stitches through all of the bruising on Neil’s front side. It doesn’t even look like individual bruises at this point. No, it looked like someone had taken a paintbrush to Neil’s stomach and painted him with browns, blues, yellows, and purples. On a different canvas, it could be considered a masterpiece. But on Neil, it was nothing short of a tragedy. There’s no start to them and there’s no end. His body is littered with cuts and bandages and Andrew’s beginning to think that he’s in over his head again.

Andrew wants to walk away. He wants to walk out the front door of Abby’s house and hightail it back to Fox Tower. Neil wasn’t his mess to clean up and yet here he was doing just that. When had he gotten himself into all of this? 

Andrew pushes his thoughts away and begins tearing bandages off of Neil’s body. He needs to see all of the damage before he can call Abby. He needs to know just how bad it is. Andrew tears off six bandages before getting to the one on Neil’s cheek. He peels it off slowly and is instantly hit with an icy pang of rage upon seeing what is underneath. _IV. Four._ Now, with his fists clenched against his sides once again, Andrew walks away. 

“Andrew?” Neil calls after him.

“Wait there.” He says back as he walks enters the kitchen. Wymack looks up at his entrance.

“What do you need?” Coach asks.

“I need,” Andrew pauses. What does he need? He’s now positive that he’s in over his head. He needs help, but like Neil he won’t ask for help. Andrew will only ask for assistance at most. “I need you to get Abby. This is her area of expertise.”

“Okay.”

Wymack rises from his seat at the kitchen table and stretches his arms above his head. Someone else might’ve thought that he’d been sitting at the table doing nothing since their arrival, but Andrew knew that Wymack had been doing damage control since he’d dropped Andrew off at the airport. His lot had known something was up after his call to Kevin and it wouldn’t have taken Boyd long to call Wilds. And of course, Reynolds had been a step ahead of most of them.

“Coach.” Andrew calls.

“Yes?”

“I don’t think he knows but, Riko had him marked. Tell Abby to keep the outburst to a minimum when she sees it.” Andrew informs him. As far as he was concerned, Neil didn’t know about the number tattooed on his face. Andrew could only imagine what would happen when he found out. _Perhaps I should hide the kitchen knives,_ Andrew thinks to himself. 

“Damn it. Okay, just uh come back in the living room when you’re ready. He’ll probably need you when Abby starts cleaning him up.” Wymack says.

Need Andrew? Ah, it seemed that Wymack’s intelligence streak was coming to an end. “Above your pay grade, old man.” Andrew warns. Wymack raises an eyebrow and exits the room to find Abby. 

-

“Is everything okay?” Neil asks when Andrew finally reenters the room. He’s sitting on one of the couches in the living room. Abby is working on him now, her mouth set in a hard line. Andrew knows she’s trying her best to keep it together. Neil didn’t seem to be the only one suffering due to the injuries. He’s barely reacting to Abby’s gentle hands at work. 

Neil was the injured one and yet he was asking Andrew if he was okay. _How infuriating…_ “I hate you.” Andrew says back, lacking any heat. 

“I,” Neil starts. “Okay.”

Andrew crosses the room and takes up the spot to Neil’s left on the couch. Abby had finished up bandaging most of the smaller cuts and was now moving onto bigger things, like Neil’s stitches. The dressing on them needed to be changed and the stitched area needed to be cleaned. Abby was gentle as she cleaned the area with water and was now moving on to drying and applying new bandages. There were only a few more things left to bandage and Andrew knew which area was being saved for last. No one had told Neil about his face yet.

Andrew slides one hand around Neil’s neck and uses the other to turn Neil’s face towards him. No more avoiding the inevitable. Now was the time to tell Neil about Riko’s cruel mark. “Do you know what he did to your face?” Andrew asks.

Neil shudders at the question. “A lot of hits, I guess. It’s hard to remember specifics.” Neil answers.

“I need you to think harder,” Andrew says. “Do you remember what he did to your face?”

The question seems to bring back a memory the second time around. Another shudder. Neil reaches a hand to his cheek, but Andrew bats it away. “He didn’t, did he?” Neil asks. His voice is unrecognizable again. Dry and shaky. Andrew nods.

Andrew isn’t sure what happens next. Everything bursts into life around them. Neil tries to bolt, but Andrew had been counting on that kind of reaction. Neil doesn’t get too far. Wymack and Abby are up seconds later. Andrew grabs Neil, shoves him to the ground, and sinks down alongside him. Both boys are facing each other, sat on their knees. 

“Look at me.” Andrew says. He grabs one of Neil’s shaking hands to get his attention. He’s almost unreachable in a state like this. Neil is just starting to slip into a panic attack when Andrew yanks his hand again.

Neil looks up at the touch. His eyes meet Andrew’s. “Stop that,” Andrew says, directed towards Neil’s heavy breathing. “Stop.”

It shouldn’t be that simple, but somehow it almost is. Andrew waits seconds, minutes, maybe hours until Neil has his breathing under control again. He raises his free hand to Neil’s face and stops just a breath away from it. Neil nods a yes and Andrew places his hand on the striker’s cheek. “You are Neil Josten. You are a striker. You are a Fox and you are home now. This,” Andrew brushes Neil’s tattoo with his finger, “does not mean a thing. You are not and never will be his. You are a Fox. You are home.”

“Home.” Neil says with a nod. 

Warmth spreads through Andrew’s chest at the word. It seems to break through some of the icy rage in the process. _Uh oh, this could be a problem…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!! Sorry that it took a little, but it's been a crazy couple of days lol as always thank you for the lovely comments they mean the absolute world to me:(( And thank you for reading<3333
> 
> social media  
> twitter: strayminhos  
> curiouscat: strayminhos  
> tumblr: foxesjostens


	6. Dizzy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw injuries, evermore mentions, etc

The rest of winter break becomes a blur. Andrew spends the remaining nights on Wymack’s couch and his days at Abby’s. He doesn’t see much of Jean, which he’s thankful for, except for on New Year’s Eve. The holiday had been spent in Abby’s living room with a very obvious lack of festive cheer. Nobody there had wasted their time on resolutions this year. Only Renee and Abby are hopeful enough to pray that this new year would be a better one. _God I hope this year’s better than the last._ Andrew, Neil, and Jean don’t hope or wish for anything. All three boys had learned long ago that hope was something to tear out at the roots when it bloomed inside of you. All hoping would do was cause them problems. 

As expected, Neil tries to rush the healing process. Neither Andrew nor Abby allow that of course. After days of arguing, Neil isn’t happy to find out that he’ll be missing their first game. _Stupid junkie…_ Wymack spends his time wondering, out loud, how he’d gotten himself into the mess he called his life. Abby, also out loud, makes it known that his whining isn’t appreciated in her home. 

Andrew also spends the last bit of winter break trying to freeze the warmth that occasionally blooms in his chest. It doesn’t take him long to admit to himself that it’s a Neil related warmth, but that’s the farthest he will let it get. Andrew isn’t one to lie and that includes when it comes to himself. He won’t deny that Neil has become a problem in yet another way, but Andrew isn’t dumb enough to think it will go any farther. Andrew Minyard is not dumb enough to want something, especially when all it will do is blow up in his face. Just like everything else.

“Hey, everything okay?” Neil asks. Andrew must’ve spaced out. He’d almost forgotten that he was sitting on Abby’s couch with Neil. 

“Fine.” Andrew grunts.

“You sound like me.” Neil says with a laugh. 

Andrew retaliates with a flick to his arm, but all that does is make Neil laugh. _That laugh…_ The warmth is spreading through his chest again. Andrew can’t be here another second. “Where are you going?” Neil asks.

“I’ll be back later. I have to do something.” Andrew says as he walks to the door. Once again, not a lie. There was something Andrew had to do. Rather, there were some people he had to see. New Year’s had come and passed and classes were starting in a few days. His lot was due back on campus today and it was time for Andrew to have a conversation with all of them. 

-

The drive from Abby’s to Fox Tower is short. Andrew knows from Wymack that Matt paid to leave his truck in the long-term parking at the airport, so they didn’t need to bother anyone to pick them up when they landed. Wymack had also told him that they had landed a half an hour ago. _Any minute now._

Andrew waits in the parking lot of Fox Tower for another ten minutes before Boyd pulls in. He exits his car when he sees the truck, but doesn’t make a move for the group. They will have to come to him. Andrew’s patience are already wearing thin. He wants to make this conversation go as quickly as possible. “Hey Andrew!” Nicky calls weakly. There’s no missing the slight panic he’s trying to hide. Clearly, Nicky could still recall what fully sober Andrew was like. Andrew says nothing in response.

“Hello Andrew,” is all Kevin says, but Andrew sees the hope in his eyes. Kevin still thinks that he can get through to Andrew. He thinks that stone cold sobriety would finally flip a switch in Andrew. Kevin is stupid enough to think that Andrew would now love Exy the way he did. _Still the same idiot he was before I left…_

Andrew offers no response to Kevin other than a cool glare. He then turns his glare on his cousin and brother. He needed to check them over. He needed to make sure that they were both okay. A few looks at both of them tells him that they’re still intact. Kevin also appeared to be in mint condition. Perhaps Neil hadn’t broken his promise afterall. _Neil,_ Andrew thinks. _That’s why I’m here._ “I am going to talk and you are all going to listen. I will not be repeating myself after this. Do you all understand?”

“Is this about Neil?” Nicky asks.

“How bad is it, Andrew?” Matt inquires. Boyd had been silent up until that point. He’d been wise enough to stay out of the uncomfortable reunion. He was always good at minding his business for the most part. 

“Can he still play?” Kevin asks. Typical Kevin Day. Andrew hadn’t expected anything different.

“Enough,” Andrew says. The interruptions were grinding on his nerves. It was his time to talk now. “This is a warning and you will all listen to me. When you see Neil, you will act as normal as possible. No fuss, no pushing him to practice, no fights. Leave him alone for the time being. Understood?”

Nicky nods. He understands. Aaron on the other hand doesn’t nod, but Andrew can’t be bothered to care. Andrew never expected much from Aaron to begin with. Kevin and Matt both nod in agreement as well, though Kevin is hesitant. “Boyd, I do not care what you do. You’re not one of mine. You asked if it’s bad and yes, it’s still very bad. It was worse, but it’s still bad. Don’t push him,” Andrew says. “This conversation is over.”

And just like that the conversation really is over. Andrew hops back into his car and tears out of the parking lot, leaving a few very confused Foxes behind. 

-

“Where were you?” Neil asks when Andrew gets back to Abby’s. 

He is still where Andrew left him, on the couch watching something Exy related. Nothing seemed to change in the short time Andrew had been gone, all except for one thing. Neil’s injuries were now uncovered. Abby must have gotten to work on him again once Andrew left. He doesn’t even realize he’s staring until Neil speaks. “Abby said I needed to air some of these out for a bit.”

Rather than responding, Andrew crosses the room just like he always does and takes up his spot next to Neil on the couch. Normally, he’d gaze at the television with no real interest, but today he has something new to look at. He wanted to see Neil’s injuries. He’d told Matt and the others that it had been bad and now, Andrew wanted to see how far Neil had come from bad. 

“Do you want to look at them?” Neil asks Andrew. He’d caught Andrew staring again. Andrew says nothing.

“I don’t mind. Plus,” Neil says. “You’ve already seen them all.” 

Andrew nods at that. He’d already seen Neil and all of his injuries at their worst. There was no harm in looking now. Andrew almost goes to grab Neil’s arm before he stops himself. Neil had said he could look, but he said nothing about touch. “Can I touch, yes or no?” Andrew asks. 

“Yes.” Neil answers as he turns to Andrew. The two are only inches apart once Andrew turns to face Neil. 

Andrew grabs for one of Neil’s arms. The grab is not exactly gentle, but it’s as close to it as Andrew has been in a long time. Once he has it in his grasp, Andrew begins to inspect the damage on the arm he’s holding. He starts at the hand. Three broken fingers, healing. A bruise here and there, nothing too bad. Next, Andrew stops at the wrist. Healing cuts from where handcuffs had dug into Neil’s skin. Andrew assumes that the night he arrived was not the first time Riko had him handcuffed to the bed. 

Andrew pushes down the anger and works his way up the rest of Neil’s arm. It’s mostly new bruises on top of old bruises littered with a few cuts. His other arm looks about the same until Andrew makes it to the top. The t-shirt Neil is wearing fits loose, it was probably Wymack’s, and Andrew can see a peculiar scar near the sagging neck line. He feels Neil tense when he realizes what Andrew is looking at. “Riko or someone else?” Andrew asks about the mark. He can’t quite see all of it, but he can take a guess at what had left the scar in question.

“Someone else,” Neil says. His voice is shaking. 

“Who?”

“If I promise to tell you some other time, will you drop it? I really don’t want to talk about him today.” Neil pleads. _Him?_ As much as he loved to be an antagonist, Andrew quickly decides that he doesn’t like the desperation dripping from Neil’s voice. It almost makes him want to leave again.

“Another promise?” Andrew asks. “You know how seriously I take them.”

“And I intend to keep it. You’ve seen me bloody and battered,” Neil starts. The shakiness has faded from his voice and has been replaced by a mix of stubborness and sternness. “Not too long ago, I let you feel what I hide under my shirt. I told you that I’d let you ask about them later on if we both survived the year. We’re both still alive, so I guess I owe you. Just not today, okay?”

“Not today.” Andrew echoes. 

Neil doesn’t turn away like Andrew expects him to after his little monologue. Neil still sits facing Andrew, looking him directly in the eyes. There is not one hint of weakness behind them. He’d always liked Neil’s real eye color. He thinks back to a time he’d made the other boy give up another part of the lie, his colored contacts, that was Neil Josten. Now Andrew was staring at another attempt at the truth; Auburn hair. Andrew takes one more good look at Neil before bringing up the forgotten topic. “I forgot to ask about your hair.”

Neil doesn’t tense as much this time, but Andrew can still see that he didn’t expect the conversation to go this way. “Riko said I can’t change it back. Same with my eyes,” he says as he gestures towards them. “I barely even remember when he had it done. I remember one of the senior Ravens working the dye through my hair, but that’s about it. I don’t even think I was fully conscious.”

Anger flares again. That icy anger clashes with the leftover warmth inside of him. Neil Josten was the cause of a war inside of Andrew’s chest. He was responsible for this battle of fire and ice. Unwanted warmth one minute and familiar cold anger the next. Familiarity had taken its place in his chest once again. “Can I take a turn? I can’t remember who’s turn it is for a truth, but I promised you one earlier. I think it’s my turn.” Neil asks.

Andrew makes a vague gesture instructing Neil to ask his question. He isn’t sure what truth Neil is after this time. “I need to know, do you regret what you did? Do you regret all the trouble you went through to get me out of Evermore?”

“I do not waste time on regrets,” is what Andrew says back. It’s all he trusts himself to say. Neil only seemed to be proving himself dumber and dumber as time went on. _Regret bringing him back?_ Andrew would not have put himself in that situation if he thought he would have come out of it with any regrets. The only thing Andrew could consider a regret was being stupid enough to think that what he felt for Neil was a product of his medication.

“Oh.”

“Oh indeed.” Andrew says. He hoped Neil realized that this was the end of the conversation. Andrew didn’t feel like talking about the topic at hand anymore. He’d let more than enough slip today.

“Are the others back?” Neil asks in an obvious attempt at changing the subject. _Dumb one minute, smart the next._ “I think I heard Coach say that they’d landed earlier.”

“Yes, the idiots are back.”

“Which means you’re back to hanging around the dorms?” Neil guesses. He almost sounds like he’s going to miss spending his days with Andrew by his side. Perhaps he isn’t ready to relinquish Andrew’s daily protection.

Andrew nods in response. 

“Oh.” Neil says for the second time today. It sounds different than the first time. The first “oh” had been filled with confusion, whereas this one seemed to be colored with disappointment. 

Silence.

“Do you think I could come back with you?” Neil asks. 

Andrew hadn’t been expecting the question. Interesting. Damn it. “Are you ready for that?” Andrew asks Neil. There wasn’t much time before classes started up again, but Andrew could understand if Neil wanted to spend his last few days at Abby’s. He would understand if Neil wasn’t ready to face the busybodies just yet. He didn’t know that Andrew had already set them straight and hopefully he never would.

“I want things to go back to normal,” Neil says. “I can’t lay around here anymore. If I want some normality back, I’m gonna have to start by seeing the others. They already know what’s going on. I can’t avoid them forever.”

“If you think you’re ready, then you can come back with me,” Andrew suggests. “The others won’t be a problem.” 

Neil doesn’t even seem to consider the idea. The agreement is automatic, like a reflex. He’s nodding “yes” before he even starts to speak. “I’m ready.”

“Okay,” Andrew says. “Have Abby check you one more time before we leave. I’ll be in the car.”

“Okay.” Neil says. He stares at Andrew for another second before leaving the couch, almost as if he’s taking in the scene around him. Once again, interesting. Andrew wished Neil would stop being interesting.

-

Neil decides that he might not be as ready to face his teammates as he thought he was. This realization, however, comes to him a bit too late. It doesn’t hit him until he is walking up the steps in Fox Tower. There’s nowhere for him to run. There is no way for him to avoid seeing them now. Every part of Neil’s body is screaming at him to run, but he won’t. He’d chosen to stay a few months ago and he wasn’t going to go back on that now. Neil had been through some of the worst things life had to offer with no one by his side. He’d survived Evermore with only a small amount of help from Jean. He’d continued on after losing his mother. Neil was more than capable of handling things on his own and now, he had Andrew by his side. Neil was ready.

After his only slightly painful walk up the stairs, Neil walks through the staircase door to find his teammates waiting outside their dorms for him. They turn at the sound of the door opening and all of them, minus Aaron, look away right after. Neil assumes they’d been told it had been bad, but it’s obvious that they had underestimated what bad meant. They were getting a semi-healed version of Neil and they still couldn’t handle that. Neil finds himself mustering up some more gratitude at the fact that Andrew and Renee had been the ones to see him at his worst. Their imperfect pasts had lead prepared them to deal with a broken Neil with ease and in Renee’s case, care.

“Hey Neil.” Matt says through gritted teeth. _He’s pissed._

“Hey Matt. How was New York?” Neil asks. It’s his attempt at normalcy. He wonders how long the others will be able to go along with it.

Matt blinks in surprise at the question but answers almost effortlessly. “Cold and crowded, just like Mom said it would be. Really crowded on New Year’s.”

“Yeah I bet,” Neil says. “I’ve never been to New York.” 

“We should go one day! All of us should go.” Nicky says finally. Neil is surprised that it’s taken him this long to find his voice. Nicky looks sick at the sight of Neil. Neil wonders if it’s all because of his appearance or if some of it stems from a feeling of betrayal due to his lies. He wonders the same about Matt. Lying was second nature to Neil. It was never something he struggled with and yet, lying to Nicky and Matt had been hard for him. He hated that lying had become hard. He hated that he’d broken his mother’s rules over and over again. “We got you and Andrew some Christmas gifts! They’re in our dorm, you can stop by later if you want to grab them.”

“Thank you, Nicky. I’m sorry I didn’t really have a chance to get anything for you guys.” Neil says. And it’s true. He had felt sorry that he hadn’t been able to get his teammates Christmas gifts. He couldn’t believe that he’d even felt the urge to get them anything in the first place. Christmas was rarely celebrated in the Wesninski household. It wasn’t something that ever really crossed his mind. Neil, and his mother, had more important things to think about. 

“You mean you didn’t have any time because you were too busy getting beaten to a pulp.” Aaron says, destroying the flimsy attempt at normalcy. Ah yes, Aaron. Neil definitely hadn’t missed Aaron.

Neil feels Andrew tense behind him. Andrew had silent enough that Neil had almost forgotten that he was standing behind him. _Almost._ Nicky and Matt curse under their breath at Aaron’s rudeness. Andrew takes a step towards his brother. The glare he’s sending his brother could’ve frozen Hell over. It’s like there’s a warning in Andrew’s gaze, but Neil can’t figure out what it says. What could this warning mean? “I think we’re done here.” Andrew says.

“Andrew…” Kevin says. He’d taken a lot longer to find his voice, but Neil wasn’t surprised that he’d been the last to say anything during their tense meeting. 

“Enough.” Andrew says back. Another warning?

“Andrew, maybe we should talk about this.” Nicky says, gesturing towards Neil. _Nicky, why haven’t you learned by now?Thank God this is over._

Andrew’s lot head back into their dorm while Matt begins unlocking his and Neil’s dorm. Andrew has not moved. Neil has not moved. Silence. Matt is smart enough to head into the dorm, leaving Neil and Andrew alone in the hallway. Silence.

“Is everything okay?” Neil asks. He doesn’t know what to say. He isn’t even exactly sure what had went on. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until Andrew had stepped in front of him. Andrew had never cared what his brother said to any of their teammates, so why did he care now?

More silence.

“Hey,” Neil says, taking a step towards Andrew. He makes sure not to enter the other boy’s personal space, but he’s close enough to gain Andrew’s attention. “Talk to me. Did I do something wrong?”

Andrew rolls his eyes at the question. It made Neil feel like he had said the wrong thing. Again. “I hate you.”

“You say that a lot, but I don’t think I believe you.” Neil says back. _Instigating._

“If you were smart, you’d believe me.” Andrew tells him while taking a step towards him. He seems willing to play along for now though Neil isn’t sure how he still has the patience for a game like this. 

“I didn’t think you considered me smart.” Neil goes to take another step towards Andrew, only to be beaten out by the goalie. He had taken another step before Neil could. Neil hadn’t been expecting Andrew to get this close. He hadn’t been too far from Andrew since he’d gotten out of the Nest and yet, this closeness now was almost enough to make him dizzy. Andrew reaches an arm up towards Neil’s neck slowly and hooks a finger in the collar of his shirt. 

“I don’t.” Andrew whispers. 

Neil can only nod in response. He’s dizzy now. Something about being this close to Andrew has made him extremely dizzy. His mouth feels like it’s full of cotton, dry and heavy. And for once, Neil Josten is speechless. He isn’t sure how long they stand in the hallway like this, but eventually Andrew takes a couple of steps back. Neil takes one for good measure. “Matt probably thinks I died out here or something. I should go inside.”

“So go.”

“Okay,” Neil says. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Sure.” Andrew says back.

Andrew turns to head into his dorm. Neil takes a step towards his own before realizing that he’d forgotten something. “Hey Andrew?” Neil calls.

“What?” Andrew is almost through the front doorway, but he turns back to face Neil.

“I don’t think I ever thanked you. I just,” Neil pauses. He isn’t sure how to go about this, still suffering from a loss of words, but he wants to say it right. For some reason unknown to him, this matters. “I don’t know how much this’ll mean to you and it will probably never even be enough, but thank you. Thank you for everything.” Neil finally says. Something about this feels bittersweet. Something about parting from Andrew almost makes him sad. 

Andrew stares back at Neil for a few seconds before finally nodding. “See you later.” Andrew says. And then, he’s gone. Andrew is gone. Neil hopes the strange feeling in the pit of his stomach will fade away soon, hopefully before he can figure out why it’s there and what it has to do with Andrew. _Strange…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> story time: so basically the whole thing with abby and renee thinking "god i hope this year us better than the last" is a direct reference to a song with that title by syml. i was listening to it, as well as uranus by sleeping at last bc it reminds me of andrew, while writing this chapter. i kinda just imagined abby and renee sitting in the kitchen after jean had fallen asleep, theyre both exhausted and they're just kinda staring out the window and abby, who's never negative, says that there's not much of a point in resolutions this year and renee laughs but there's no humor in it and she just says god i hope this year is better than the last and abby just nods in agreement and puts a hand on renee's shoulder. 
> 
> so YEAH anyway fdhjfdhj thank you for reading and leaving comments bc they mean the world to me!! i hope you guys enjoy this chapter!!
> 
> social media  
> twitter: strayminhos  
> curiouscat: strayminhos  
> tumblr: foxesjostens


	7. Property

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw mention of suicidal thoughts

The strange feeling, it’s almost an emptiness, in Neil’s stomach dies down as Matt begins to tell him all about winter vacation in New York City. Matt is hesitant at first, not wanting to rub a vacation that he couldn’t have in Neil’s face, but Neil finds that he really does want to hear about it. He wanted to hear that everyone had a good time. Neil wanted to know that everyone had stayed safe. Going to Evermore may have been an attempt to keep one person in particular safe, but that didn’t mean that he hadn’t worried about his whole team when he was away. There wasn’t much time to worry at the Nest, but Neil still managed to do just that. 

Matt tells him how Kevin had dragged them all to a local court, multiple times, because he refused to have a break without Exy. He tells Neil about the surprise he’d somehow managed to coordinate for Nicky, a surprise visit from Erik. It shocks Neil, not because an act of kindness seems out of character for Matt, rather that he’d cared enough about Nicky to arrange something like that. Neil finds himself happy as he listens to the vacation stories Matt tells him. He even finds himself laughing over something that Aaron had done in New York. 

In this moment, Neil desperately wishes for a fully united team. He knew that Andrew being back was bound to throw a couple of wrenches in the team’s plans for unity. It was no secret that they’d begun to work together better after the loss of Seth, but what if there was a way to get them to be a unified force? There had to be a way to get everyone to really work together, but how? Neil knows that Andrew would be the hardest person to convince in a situation like this, along with Aaron and Nicky. Nicky had proved that he had no problems with the upperclassmen and it was obvious that Aaron’s issues with them stemmed from Andrew’s. Andrew was the key here. How could he get Andrew to loosen his hold on his brother and cousin? 

Neil is shaken from his thoughts by a knock on the door. Matt hops up to get it, thinking it’s Coach Wymack, and leaves Neil in their room. “Uh, Neil. Door for you!” Matt shouts. Door for Neil? Who could be at the door for him? There’s only one person that would come for Neil, but they hadn’t parted too long ago. Only one way to find out.

Neil comes out of his and Matt’s room and makes a beeline for the door. Matt’s face seems to soften at his approach. The older boy kicks the door open further to reveal the person standing behind it. _Huh?_

“What are you doing here, Kevin?” Neil asks. He’d thought person knocking was Andrew. He’d _hoped_ the person at their door was Andrew. 

“I uh, have something for you,” Kevin says awkwardly. He sends a pointed looked down at the plastic bag he’s holding in his hand. “Can I come in?”

Neil is halfway through wondering whether Kevin was weird enough to get him a Christmas gift before realizing what is in the bag. _My binder…_ How could he have forgotten about that? “Yeah of course, come in.” Neil says as he ushers Kevin towards his room.

Neil realizes he needs to tell Matt something, anything. Matt isn’t the type to insert himself in other people’s business, he wouldn’t expect to be a part of this conversation, but it doesn’t feel right leaving him out without any kind of explanation. “I’m gonna go see what Kevin wants.” Neil says. It’s a weak attempt at privacy, but he hopes that Matt can understand.

“Cool, I think I’m gonna make a pot of coffee. Want a mug?” Matt asks. Sometimes Neil forgets just how easy living with Matt is.

“Yeah, Matt. Absolutely.”

“Alrighty then. I’ll get that going while you get the pleasure of talking Kevin,” Matt says with a laugh. Neil smiles back. _So easy._ “Oh, Neil?” Matt says as Neil walks away.

“Yeah?”

“Shout if you need me, okay? I’ll be right in the kitchen.” Matt says softly. Neil wonders if Matt is expecting trouble from Kevin, but something clicks before he is about to tell his roommate that he can handle Kevin on his own. _He’s worried,_ Neil realizes. 

“Of course. Thank you, Matt.” Neil says.

Matt smiles at Neil as he walks out of the room. The expression leads to another strange feeling in Neil’s stomach: Guilt. He’d been feeling guilt more and more lately due to his lies and how the affected his teammates. He knew this wouldn’t be the last time he felt guilty for lying to them. He almost wished he hadn’t let himself grow attached to any of them. _Almost._

Neil isn’t surprised when he walks into his room and finds Kevin pacing around it. The two hadn’t said much to each other since they’d both gotten back from their respective “holidays”, if you were sick enough to consider Neil’s break a holiday. Perhaps Kevin was experiencing some guilt as well.

“Can you sit down or something? You’re making me nervous with all that pacing.” Neil says as he enters the room. Kevin rolls his eyes at the request, but takes a seat on Matt’s bed. His expression is unreadable. Neil wonders if he’s about to be sick.

“What’s wrong with you?” Neil asks bluntly. There was no point in beating around the bush with Kevin. He needed things to be direct and straightforward. 

Kevin opens his mouth and closes it a few times before responding to Neil. It was like he was having trouble finding the right words, or any words in this case. His pacing wasn’t the only thing making Neil nervous. “Jesus Christ, Kevin just say something. Do you have my binder?” Neil asks.

The question seems to be enough to snap Kevin out of whatever trance he was in. He hands over the plastic bag containing Neil’s binder. “I didn’t open it.” Kevin says when Neil takes it from him.

“Good.”

He expects Kevin to leave after that. He figured that Kevin did not want to give the binder back in front of Andrew. Too many questions. But now, instead of leaving, Kevin is staring at him. Neil feels like a newly discovered species under a microscope. Like Kevin was two seconds away from dissecting him and writing down his findings. Neil wished Kevin would either say something or just leave already. 

“If you need to talk, about-- you know I-- I know what it’s like,” Kevin finally says in French. He seemed to have an easier time finding his words in another language. “I know what it was like there. If you need to talk, you can talk to me.” 

_I take that back,_ Neil thinks. _Fuck talking, he should have just left._

“Okay. Thank you.” Neil replies. He isn’t sure what else to say. Yes, Kevin was technically one of the people he was closest to, but this is not how their relationship worked. The only support they offered each other was on the court and in practice. This was new, too new, and Neil was not sure how to proceed.

“I know that it’s not easy. I know that, but I only know to a certain extent. There was only so much that _he_ could do to me, until the end of course. We,” Kevin stops to take a deep breath. “We were always in the public eye. We _were_ Exy. He could only go so far with me, but I know that it was different for Jean. I know that it was different for you. Jean’s presence at Evermore was the result of a settled debt. He is Moriyama property. I know how they see you both.”

“I am not Moriyama property.” Neil says back. Heat has flooded his voice. 

“That is the way he sees you. Regardless of what you are, he sees you as property. I know what that means, Neil. Between that knowledge and what you look like right now,” Kevin says, taking another breath. “I know that he did not hold back. He never held back when it came to Jean and I know that he would have acted the same with you.” 

Neil is ready to rant and rave about he is not and never would be anyone’s property until something dawns on him. _Jean…_ No one had told Kevin about Jean. Maybe Renee had told Dan and Allison, but Neil doesn’t think that anyone had told the rest of the team about that part of their rescue mission. Only three Foxes, for sure, knew that two people had been rescued that night.

“About Jean…” Neil trails off.

A look of confusion sweeps across Kevin’s face. “What about Jean?” Kevin asks.

“He’s uh, well… He’s…” Neil trails off again. He didn’t know how to break this news to Kevin. How exactly do you break news like this? Jean’s presence at Palmetto had been hard enough for Neil. There would be no telling what this would be like for Kevin.

“He’s what? Neil, what is going on?” Kevin asks frantically. “Is he… Is he d--”

“No, God no. Jean isn’t dead.” Neil assures him. 

“Thank God. Okay, then what is it? Spit it out.” Kevin begs.

Here it goes. “Jean is here.”

Kevin stands up and looks around the room. “Jean is _where_?” Kevin asks.

“He’s at Palmetto. Abby and Renee have him. He’s technically no longer a Raven.” Neil finally says. 

Kevin looks as if his knees, and his heart, are going to give out. He immediately plants himself back on Matt’s bed in an attempt to steady himself. He’s groaning as if he’s really about to be sick this time. “The Master,” is all Kevin says as he places his head in his hands.

“Tetsuji let him go,” Neil says. “He let the both of us go.”

Kevin laughs at that, but it sounds wrong. His laughter sounds one inch away from being unhinged. Wrong. “What were you thinking?!” Kevin shouts. “Were any of you thinking?! Did you really think you could take someone like Jean Moreau out of the Nest with no consequences? He’s going to kill us! Riko is going to have us all killed!” 

“What was I supposed to do, Kevin? Leave him there just like you did?” Neil shouts back. He doesn’t miss the guilt that flashes across Kevin’s face. “You were freaking out at the thought of him being dead a few minutes ago, so can you honestly tell me that you think he would’ve been able to survive being left there again? Do you really think he would have made it through the year alive?” 

Kevin doesn’t answer him. Instead, he picks a point on the wall in front of him to stare at in order to avoid the conversation. _Coward…_ “You know better than anyone that there’s only so much someone can take before they break. Do you even remember what being around Jean was like? Do you remember the emptiness in his eyes, Kevin?”

“Stop.” Kevin says.

“No!” Neil yells. “No, I’m not going to stop! Fuck, I don’t even like the guy but I still couldn’t leave him there. All he does is let things happen to him at this point! He’s so tired that all he can do is take everything Riko throws at him. Everyone has a breaking point and he was about three seconds from his. If Riko didn’t kill him by the end of the year, he would’ve done it himself.”

“I said stop! Do you think I wanted to leave him there?” Kevin asks as he stands up again. He’s steadier on his feet this time, anger replacing his fear and panic. “I needed to get myself out of there and I did! I’m not gonna stand here and let you try to make me feel bad about that.”

“I’m not trying to do that. I’m trying to get you to understand that some risks need to be taken. I know that taking Jean was an extremely stupid thing to do, but it had to be done. I don’t regret it and I know that Renee and Andrew don’t either.” Neil says. 

The two seem to come to a stand still. There’s understanding on both sides, but stubbornness and fear on Kevin’s side as well. Neil knows that it’s going to take more than one heated conversation to convince him that this was the right choice, but Neil isn’t worried about that. He’s more worried about what Kevin brings up next.

“He can’t play with us,” Kevin says. “You know how dangerous that would be.”

And he’s right. Kevin Day is absolutely right. Jean can’t play with the Foxes. Between unresolved issues with Kevin and rabid Ravens fans, Neil knows that Jean is too dangerous of an addition to their team. Neil couldn’t lose anymore teammates this year. He wouldn’t. “We’re just gonna have to find him a new team.” Neil suggests.

“It’s not that easy.” Kevin scoffs.

“Well, we’re going to make it as easy as we can. You’re going to make some calls to all and any connections you have. There’s bound to be a team that wants someone with Jean’s skill and dedication.” Neil says.

“I will not be involved with this. You, Renee, and Andrew made this decision.” Kevin argues.

“Yeah, we did make the decision to bring Jean here,” Neil begins. “But _you_ owe him. Do this for him Kevin. You can help him this time.”

Neil knows it isn’t right to play on Kevin’s age old guilt, but it’s the only way to get Kevin to agree. He knows that Wymack could be the one to find Jean a new team, but he is also aware that Kevin knows Jean in ways that Wymack could never understand. Kevin would find the right fit for Jean. He wouldn’t put Jean with the wrong people.

“Fine,” Kevin says. “I will make some calls.”

“Good.”

“I’m leaving now. I’ve had enough of you for one day.” Kevin says as he heads to the door. Neil doesn’t bother walking him out. He needs to collect his thoughts before rejoining Matt. 

How returning his binder had turned into an almost heart to heart and then into a full blown argument, Neil truly didn’t know. What he did know was that this felt like a victory, albeit a small one. He also knew that he’d left out a topic that he’d desperately wanted to discuss with Kevin. Kayleigh Day’s letter. Jean had shown it to him one day and he’d shoved it into his bag as he was leaving the Nest. He was not going to leave it behind, especially not with what it contained: A confirmation that Coach Wymack was, in fact, Kevin’s father. Perhaps he’d bring up the letter and it’s contents on a different day, but that day would not be today. He’d had his fill of Kevin for the day.

“Hey Neil!” Matt shouts. “Coffee’s ready!” 

“Coming!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so you guys left me a couple of long and detailed comments on the last chapter and i just wanted to say that they meant so so much to me<3 i love that yall seem to be liking this fic tysm for reading and leaving kind words and kudos!! until next time!!
> 
> social media:  
> twitter (i completely forgot that i have a book twt account oops): strayminhos (main), lightwoodfrays (book twt)  
> curiouscat: strayminhos  
> tumblr: foxesjostens


	8. Damn It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for scars, mentions of evermore, etc

Even with classes starting in a few days, Neil almost forgets that he still has to become reacquainted with his last two teammates after their holiday breaks. Matt had left a half an hour ago to pick them up from the airport, which meant that they would be back any minute. Part of Neil just wants to get this over with. He’d been itching to have his team back together, but the thought of having to explain his injuries to Dan put a damper on any excitement he might have had. 

Renee had been spending her winter break, before the prison break, with Allison so Neil knew that she had some idea of what had went on. And yet, he still found himself bracing for her arrival as well. He wasn’t ready to be questioned and gaped at again. But, Neil was glad that this would be the last time that he would have to go through this process. Once Dan and Allison rejoined them, he wouldn’t be put on display anymore. 

“Hey,” Matt calls, “We’re back!” 

Neil hadn’t even heard the door open. He had officially run out of time. Bless Matt for yelling out a warning. Neil briefly considers pretending to be asleep before he realizes that he wants to head straight into this. There was no reason to hide. More importantly, there was no time to hide. _It’s time to move,_ Neil thinks to himself.

“Coming!” Neil yells back as he begins to walk towards the kitchen. There’s no ignoring the hammering sound of his heart. He can feel his pulse pounding in his neck and wrists. _Why am I so nervous?_ Neil wonders. _It’s just Dan and Allison._

“Hey N-” Dan stops. She’d had a smile plastered on, definitely not a real one, as Neil had entered the room. His appearance seemed to wipe it right off of her face. Neil was sick of being the reason that the room went silent. 

“Hey guys, how was your vacation?” Neil asks, ignoring the anger radiating off of Dan. He wasn’t too sure that acting normal would work on her the way it worked on his other teammates. He wasn’t even sure why his act had worked on Nicky, but he wasn’t going to question it.

“It was going pretty well until Renee had to haul ass out of state. Care to explain?” Allison replies. 

“Allison!” Matt scolds. 

“Well, it’s pretty clear that Dan isn’t going to ask, so I’m gonna. I’m assuming we’re the only two out of the loop at this point and I think it’s time we heard what’s been going on.” Allison says. 

“I-” Neil stops. How exactly would he explain his winter break? He wasn’t sure what the girls knew and what they didn’t know. It had been bad enough lying to Matt, but lying to Dan felt even worse. She was his captain. She’d trusted him and all he did was lie over and over again. 

“You lied,” Dan finishes his sentence for him. “You told us you were going to see your uncle! Do you even have any uncles?!”

“I do. Uncle Stewart is real. But you’re right, I lied to you. I was never going to Millport.” Neil admits.

“You know, we’ve been really good when it comes to your issues with trusting us. I try not to push because I know it isn’t my business or anyone else’s, but I still trusted you. I don’t want to keep taking it so personally but this last one really fucking stings. You may not have any faith or trust in us, but we trust you.” Dan says. “You lying and going to Evermore is like a slap in the face, Neil! You blatantly lied to all of us.”

“I had to! I didn’t go there for a good time, Dan. Do you honestly think I would want to spend any time with Riko? I did it f-” Neil stops. Only a few people knew why he’d really gone to Evermore. Only a few people knew _who_ he’d gone for. He didn’t want to bring Andrew into this. Everyone had known more than they should’ve about Andrew already. Neil wasn’t going to be the one to give more away.

“Did it for who?” Allison asks. She’s not even trying to hide the annoyance on her face. Neil didn’t think that she would’ve been angry about the lying.

“It doesn’t matter,” Neil says. “All that matters is that we’re all back and we’re all safe.”

“But you weren’t safe!” Dan shouts as she thrusts a finger towards him to prove her point. “You may have protected us or whoever it was that you were trying to protect, but what about you?” 

Dan was right. He hadn’t been safe, but he knew that going to Evermore was going to leave him worse for wear. Neil hadn’t even been sure if he was going to be able to come home, nevermind being safe. And plus, he had probably felt worse in his life. “I’m fine.” Neil says. 

“Are you though? Are you actually fine, Neil? You say that a lot, but I’m not sure if you ever really mean it.” Matt says. He’d been silent since scolding Allison, trying his best to stay out of the argument. He’d always tried his hardest to mind his own business when it came to Neil.

“I am. I’m fine because you’re all okay,” Neil sighs. “I’m sorry I lied to all of you, but I would do it again if I had to. If this is what it takes for me to keep you guys safe than that’s okay.”

Neil knows that Dan still wants to argue that. He can almost hear her giving him a speech on why he wasn’t allowed to decide to sacrifice himself for anyone on the team or how they all needed to be in top condition to play, including him, but Dan had fallen silent after his last attempt at wrapping up this argument. How could she argue with what he said? There was no way to change his mind there and everyone in the room knew it. Neil was stubborn. His team had become too important to him. He’d go through hell and back to protect them. 

“Just,” Dan starts, “trust us, okay? I know that’s not so easy for you, but you gotta at least try. Trust us to be here for you.”

Neil’s mouth goes dry at Dan’s request. He’d grown up learning to never trust anyone. Trust was dangerous. Trust could ruin everything him and his mother had worked towards. And yet, he did find that he was starting to trust his team. It had only been in small ways, but the trust was there even if Neil had tried to fight it off. The sudden realization should’ve made Neil feel safe, but all it did was make him feel trapped. _I have to get out of here._ “Okay. I’ll try. I promise.” Neil says. 

_Promise…_ Andrew. Andrew could be his out. He’d been procrastinating giving the other boy back his armbands and knives. Now was the perfect time.

“I’m not gonna say that this argument is over because I’m still pretty pissed, but how about we end this for now? Why don’t we order some food and talk about literally anything other than all of this?” Dan suggests. Most of the anger has left her voice, but the remaining shreds of it still leave Neil feeling guilty. 

“Uh, actually, I have something I need to do.” Neil says. “I’ll be back in a little while though. Order without me.”

“You sure?” Allison asks.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

-

Andrew never expected knocks on the door to be for him. It wasn’t that his other roommates were wildly popular, or even slightly popular, but everyone had usually been smart enough to stay away from Andrew. Rather, most people weren’t dumb enough to seek him out. And yet, he doesn’t find himself completely surprised when Neil turns up at his door looking for him. _Stupid…_

“What are you doing here?” Andrew asks. He hasn’t let Neil walk through the front door of the dorm yet. Today was one of the rare days that Andrew had the dorm to himself and he wasn’t quite sure if he was ready for Neil to interrupt that.

“Sick of me already?” Neil asks with a smirk.

Infuriating. Andrew wishes he could wipe that little smile right off of Neil’s face. The fact that he hadn’t already reminds him of how much of a problem Neil has become. _He wasn’t supposed to be this interesting…_ “You didn’t answer my question.” Andrew says back with no real bite. 

Neil laughs at his response. It’s only a small laugh, but it manages to bring back the warmth in his chest. It had been gone since he’d left Neil in the hallway the other day. That had been the last time he’d seen Neil. Andrew wasn’t happy to have that feeling back. “You didn’t answer mine.” Neil counters. 

“I asked first.” Andrew says. It’s taking a lot of effort to keep his voice neutral. _Too much effort._

“I forgot to give you back your bands and knives,” Neil explains as he digs out the items from his pocket. “Figured you’d want them back.”

Neil holds the armbands out towards Andrew, willing him to take them. With his arm extended, Neil is now in his space. _Close…_ Andrew grabs his bands from Neil, giving them a once over to make sure they’re the way he left them. He’d be lying if he said that he hadn’t felt their absence. Andrew didn’t consider them a comfort item, he didn’t believe in those types of things. He considered his bands and knives a necessity. 

After looking them over, Andrew is ready to put them back on. He tells himself that he can’t be bothered to turn around to put them back on. Or maybe he doesn’t feel like taking on Neil’s role as the liar today. Whatever the reason may be, Andrew decides to roll his sleeves up and put his bands on in front of his one person audience. _It’s nothing he hasn’t seen._ Neil may be dumb, but Andrew doesn’t think he’s dumb enough to ask questions right now. 

“I know you don’t care, but the girls are back.” Neil says. He’s awful at subtlety. He doesn’t even try to hide the fact that he’s trying to change the topic and move the conversation somewhere safer. 

Andrew decides to play along. “Did they give you any trouble?” 

“No,” Neil says shaking his head. “Dan’s a little mad at me though.” 

It wasn’t too surprising that the captain herself was pissed off at the stunt that Neil had pulled. Andrew hadn’t been around for Boyd’s phone call to her from New York, but judging from what Nicky had mentioned, it hadn’t gone too well. The question was, which part of the whole fiasco was Wilds most angry over? “For what exactly?” Andrew asks. 

“Lying.” Neil says quietly.

“If she’s mad about you telling lies, she’s going to be mad for the rest of the year. That’s all you seem to do.” Andrew says back. Dan was wasting her time being angry over being lied to. Hadn’t she figured that out about Neil already? He was a walking lie. That’s part of what made him so dangerous.

“Not to you,” Neil says. “I’ve given you a lot of truth.” 

Andrew isn’t sure what it is, but something changes in Neil’s eyes when he says that. It’s almost as if he needs Andrew to know that he means that. It’s like he needs Andrew to know that he doesn’t lie to him. Heat floods Andrew’s chest. He needs to talk about something else, anything else. “Speaking of that, I think you owe me a truth.”

“Is there any way we can wait just a little longer for that?” Neil asks. 

Apparently he still didn’t feel like talking. Perhaps their truth game had finally come to an end. Andrew doesn’t know why, but the thought of that bothers him. For whatever reason, he doesn’t want their little game to end. He wishes he could swallow the heat invading his chest. It was beginning to go right to his head.

“Fine,” Andrew says. He was done with Neil for now. He needed the dorm to himself again even though he’d never let Neil in. “Get out of my sight.”

“Okay.”

_Good,_ Andrew thinks as Neil turns away from him. _Go._

“Hey, Andrew?”

_Damn it…_

“What now?” Andrew asks. To no one’s surprise, he’s patience were beginning to run thin again. 

“I don’t know if I got to say this because of everything that happened, but I’m glad that you’re back.” Neil says. He flashes another one of those small smiles at Andrew before ducking into his dorm.

“God damn it.” Andrew says to the empty hallway. Oh yes, Neil had definitely become a problem and Andrew was usually good at solving problems. He always had a way to put an end to them. With this particular problem however, he had no clue how to solve. He didn’t even have a way to go about solving this. 

“God fucking damn it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for going missing for like two weeks lol I've just had a lot of stuff going on,, Hope yall enjoy this chapter & thank you so much for reading & leaving comments, kudos, etc.
> 
> social media  
> twitter: strayminhos & lightwoodfrays  
> curiouscat: strayminhos  
> tumblr: foxesjostens


	9. Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tw for injuries and talk about nathan

“Minyard, I swear on everything good and holy, if you injure one of my players there are gonna be some serious consequences!” Wymack shouts. 

_Yeah, right,_ Neil thinks to himself. He knows an empty threat when he hears one. His mother’s threats were occasionally empty, but never his father’s. Not a single one. Neil shivers at the thought of his father.

“Neil, God dammit!”

“Huh?” He asks as turns towards the voice. He could’ve sworn, just for a second, that it was his father yelling his name. Another shiver strikes like lightning.

“I’ve called your name five times!” Wymack, it was only Wymack, says. “Where did you go?”

“I didn’t go anywhere, Coach. I haven’t moved.” Neil replies.

Wymack sighs. “I know that, kid. I meant, where did you nod off to? You were gone there for a second.”

He was right. Neil had almost fallen down a rabbit hole for a second there and yet, he’d somehow managed to sidestep it just in time. “Sorry Coach. It won’t happen again.”

“I know it won’t,” Wymack says. “Cut the unnecessary apology shit and focus on the task at hand with me.”

“What’s there for me to focus on? I’m benched.” Neil complains. In retrospect, he should’ve known better than to think Abby was going to clear him for practices. The little twinge of guilt, or maybe it was pity, in her expression that appeared anytime she laid her eyes on Neil should have been a dead giveaway. 

“Quit your whining and watch.” Wymack says as he gestures towards the court. 

Nothing seems out of the ordinary at first. The whole team, minus Neil, was in the midst of practice just as he remembered. It takes a minute for Neil to catch on to what Wymack had called “the task at hand.” It started with a misstep from Dan. Except, it hadn’t been a misstep. She’d tripped and almost landed on her ass. Next to almost take a spill was Kevin and then Nicky and so on. 

_Oh,_ Neil thinks. _Now I get what’s going on._ He should have known. Andrew. Of course it was Andrew. He’d spent the last couple of days avoiding the few members of the team who had arrived last. Neil hadn’t thought much of it. He hadn’t thought much of Andrew avoiding the rest of the team either. That was just Andrew. But now, here he was, launching every and any ball at the feet of each of his teammates. They were minutes away from an injury. It was only a matter of time before someone hit the floor. 

“Andrew is the task at hand.” Neil says finally.

“Thanks for catching up,” Wymack replies sarcastically. “Now get out there and tell your friend to cut this shit out. We can’t afford to lose anyone else.”

“Me?”

Wymack sighs again. Neil seemed to have that effect on people lately. “No, the guy behind you. Of course I mean you.”

“But why me, Coach?” Neil asks. “If anyone was able to stop him it definitely wouldn’t be me.”

“Agree to disagree. Now let’s go, Josten. Move your ass!” Wymack says as he bangs on the wall to call the game to a stop. He slides the door open for Neil and gives him a slight nudge onto the court.

The walk to Andrew is silent and uncomfortable. Having his whole team’s eyes on him as he crossed the court was unsettling to say the least. It had to have been the first time Neil had felt awkward on a court. He’d been hurt, bloody, and bruised on a court, but never awkward. Even when he was first learning the sport, he had never felt so gawky and unskillful. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Neil asks as he stops in front of Andrew.

“Better question, what do you think _you’re_ doing?” Andrew counters.

“You know why I’m out here,” Neil says. “You have to stop attempting to maim your teammates.”

“ _Your_ teammates.” Andrew says back.

Now it was Neil’s turn to sigh. “Sure, my teammates. Regardless, once again I’m gonna need you to stop trying to maim them.”

“And I’m going to need Wymack to mind his business.” Andrew replies.

“What?” 

Andrew rolls his eyes. “Leave and tell Coach to mind his business and his pay grade.”

“If you promise that you’ll leave the team alone I’ll leave.” Neil says.

“Promise, huh?” Andrew questions. “I seem to remember a promise of a truth owed to me by a rabbit not too long ago.”

“Okay Andrew,” Neil starts. “You have to agree to stop tripping everyone up and if you do, I’ll give you another truth.”

Andrew almost seems like he wants to laugh at Neil’s ultimatum. “Oh you’ll give me a truth alright, but not just any truth. I wanted the one promised to me.”

_What exactly did I promise to him?_ Neil wonders. He remembers making a promise not too long ago on Abby’s couch. But he couldn’t seem to place just what he had promised to Andrew. Whatever Andrew was looking for didn’t matter. If Neil had promised this knowledge to Andrew, then he would give it. He owed it to him and the team.

“Fine, I’ll give you what I promised as long as you do what I asked. Do we have a deal?” Neil asks.

“Deal.”

“What exactly did I promise you?” Neil asks. He isn’t too sure that he really wants to know.

“You’ve made two promises to me regarding truth lately and I would bet that they’re related,” Andrew begins. “Your scars and who caused them. I will meet you in your dorm later and we will have a long overdue discussion. Goodbye Neil.” 

And just like that, the conversation is over. Neil walks away from Andrew in a daze. He had promised both of those things to Andrew. He had promised that one day he would show Andrew what he had let him feel before he’d been taken away. He also promised to tell Andrew who had caused some of his more unusual scars. Neil had told Andrew that he couldn’t talk about the second one on that particular day. “Not today,” he had said and it was no longer that day. Today was a new day. Another day of giving up a little bit more of the lies that made him who he was. 

“I don’t know what you said to him, but it worked.” Wymack said, shaking Neil from his almost meltdown. 

He turned towards the court and saw that Andrew had kept his word. He was playing Exy with his team by the rules. He’d kept his word and later on, Neil would keep his.

Neil almost walks away from his Coach before realizing he had a message to relay. “Uh Coach, Andrew asked me to tell you to mind your business and pay grade? Whatever that means.”

“Yeah yeah, that’s all well and good,” Wymack says. “You better just make sure this doesn’t end up becoming an issue.”

Better make sure what doesn’t end up becoming an issue? Why was everyone being so cryptic today? “I don’t understand.” Neil says. 

Another sigh from Wymack. Neil is sure the Foxes could and would have turned this into some kind of drinking game or bet if they had been listening. “You know what, I _will_ mind my pay grade on this one. I don’t wanna know. Just get back to watching UT’s highlights from their most recent game.”

“Can’t I just stay here and watch?” Neil asks.

“Nope, you’re too mopey and I can’t stomach that kinda shit anymore. Now go!” 

-

Neil should have known that the night was not going to go to plan. Andrew had shown up to his dorm carrying a bag of clothes. He knew better than to ask what was in it or what it meant. New clothes meant a trip to Columbia. He would never understand why Andrew had always bought him new clothes to wear on their nights out. Maybe everyone really had grown tired of his same few outfits.

Neil took the bag from Andrew and walked to his bedroom, knowing that Andrew was following close behind. It was time to fulfill his promise to Andrew and time to change for Columbia. _Two birds with one stone?_ Andrew flicked his hand towards Neil’s shirt, indicating that it was time for it to come off. 

Andrew took one step towards Neil and grasped the lower hem of his shirt. “Ready?” he asked.

Neil wasn’t surprised by Andrew’s question. He’d been helping Neil change for days, or was it weeks, now. He’d only watched Neil struggle once before helping him with the excruciating process of changing clothes and had been helping Neil whenever he was around. They had. at least, gotten past having to cut Neil’s shirts off of him.

Neil nods a yes to Andrew’s question and braces for pain. Say what you want about Andrew, but he always tried his best to make changing as painless as possible for Neil. After getting Neil’s shirt off, Andrew gazes at what’s underneath. Most of the bruises have gone an ugly yellowish brown color, but they aren’t what Andrew is looking for. He’d already seen all of the damage Riko had caused Neil. Instead, he’s looking for the things that happened before Christmas. He’s looking for Neil’s past somewhere under Neil’s present.

Neil had kept his eyes closed while Andrew was taking his shirt off of him and for the few seconds that came after. When he decides to finally open them, he sees Andrew taking in the damage that his father had caused him. Sometimes it all seems like another lifetime ago and other times, it seems too damn close. Neil takes a glance at Andrew who seems to be miles away from the mess in front of him. He only returns when the strange scar in question catches his eye.

Andrew brings a slow hand up to the burn mark on Neil’s right shoulder. He takes his time putting a finger to each one of the holes that the iron had pressed into his once unmarked skin. “I was right.” Andrew finally says.

“About what?” Neil asks in a whisper. He hadn’t realized just how close he and Andrew were standing.

“An iron. I thought this was from an iron,” Andrew says as his other hand travels down to Neil’s bullet wound. “But I don’t remember this. You were shot.”

It’s not a question. Andrew says it like a fact: You were shot.

Neil nods at Andrew’s statement.

Andrew presses his fingers against the iron holes again as he begins to ask another question. “A hot iron and a bullet are two very different ways of getting scarred. Talk.”

“That one, the iron, was from my father. I didn’t even say the wrong thing. I had said nothing, but maybe I hadn’t said it quietly enough. He slammed the iron into my shoulder as soon as he got the chance. I’ve hated him for as long as I can remember.” Neil explains. “Do you remember when you asked for my name and I gave you ‘Abram’? I couldn’t give you my father’s name, my name. I won’t let myself be called that name ever again.”

Silence falls between the two boys and there’s almost something comfortable about it. The topic at hand is in no way something Neil is comfortable talking about and yet, he’s pretty sure this could be going a lot worse.

“Renee’s knives, my knives,” is the first thing Andrew says.

“What about them?” Neil asks.

“It’s not storytime on my end, so I will not go through the details. If you want them, you can ask Renee.” Andrew says. “If you want the knives, they’re yours.”

“No.” Neil says automatically. He doesn’t want anything to do with knives. Knives are just another reminder of his father and the past he’s failing at concealing.

“No?”

“I don’t- I can’t.” Neil says. He hopes that his lack of words can still get the point across to Andrew. 

“You’ve been shot.” Andrew says.

“I’ve been shot.”

“You were right,” Andrew nods. “Someone is after you, which is why I would have assumed you would take the knives. You shouldn’t walk around unprotected.”

“You…” Neil trails off. He doesn’t know what he’s going to say, but he knows whatever it is will be too much. It will make Andrew leave and that’s the last thing he wants right now. 

“They’re wrong about you.” Neil tries. Andrew says nothing. “The whole team thinks you’re something you’re not. Andrew, why do you let them think you’re some kind of sociopath?”

“Because I do not care what people think of me.” Andrew says.

“So, your pills, d-”

“Enough questions, Neil.” Andrew says. “This would count as my next turn and I’ve decided that I’m not taking it right now.”

Neil nods and makes a grab at the bag of clothes Andrew had brought in with him. Only now did he realize he was still shirtless, exposed in front of Andrew. “I’m assuming this means we’re going to Columbia.”

“Still a genius, I see.” Andrew says as he begins to walk out of the bedroom. Neil knew this meant it was time to get dressed and get going. 

“Alright,” Neil says to himself. “Let’s see what he’s picked out this time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so ik i dropped off the face of the earth for like months BUT i'm back and i will start updating this again! i have no clue how regular the updates will be BUT i really wanna finish this bc i still love it i just kinda lost my taste for writing but i'm back so yeah! lmk how yall like this chapter and thank you so so much for all the kudos and comments that have been left even while i wasn't updating:(((( love yall see you next update!
> 
> social media:  
> tumblr: foxesjostens  
> twitter: lightwoodfrays (book twt) & strayminhos (kpop ig? and random shit twt)  
> curiouscat (you can ask me stuff here): strayminhos


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